Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced on Wednesday the seizure of 25 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $19 million), in addition to $200,000 and 4 kilograms of gold, all found hidden inside the walls of homes that were raided as part of the ongoing investigation into detained Oil Ministry Undersecretary for Refining Affairs Adnan Al-Jumaili. The council confirmed that proceedings are continuing to trace the proceeds of crime and those implicated in the case.
Judge Dhia Jaafar, an investigating judge at Iraq's Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, explained that part of the seized funds had been deposited with a number of individuals, while the remainder was discovered concealed inside the walls of several homes during search operations linked to the investigation.
The judge noted that meticulous tracking and search operations led to the recovery of these funds, which represent part of the proceeds of financial crime whose fraudulent networks the judiciary is working to dismantle.
The council's Facebook account published video footage documenting the discovery of the cash and gold inside what it described as Al-Jumaili's "secret cache," adding that part of the seized funds had been deposited with a number of individuals while the rest was found hidden inside the walls of several homes.
The council affirmed that investigations into the case of the Oil Ministry undersecretary — who was detained on suspicion of squandering public funds and entering into contracts in violation of the law, following his dismissal as director-general of the Northern Refineries Company on June 2 — are continuing.
According to observers and judicial circles, the case of Oil Ministry Undersecretary Adnan Al-Jumaili is the largest financial corruption case ever investigated in the history of the Iraqi judiciary. Authorities have so far carried out a wave of arrests targeting dozens of senior officials across various branches of the state.
In a related development, sources revealed that the list of those detained in connection with the case includes current and former members of the Iraqi parliament, as well as undersecretaries of ministries and directors-general in various vital sectors, while security services continue their search and investigation operations to apprehend other suspects who remain at large.
Asset recovery
It is worth noting that the total amount of funds recovered by the Iraqi judiciary in this sensitive file has so far exceeded 200 billion Iraqi dinars, in addition to large sums in various foreign currencies and significant quantities of gold bars and jewellery that have been confiscated for the benefit of the Iraqi state treasury.
These developments come days after the Iraqi judiciary announced the recovery of 375 kilograms of gold within the same investigations, including 358 kilograms directly linked to the Al-Jumaili file and 17 kilograms in a separate investigative case, in coordination with the Kurdistan Region authorities and under the supervision of Supreme Judicial Council President Judge Faiq Zidan.
The Iraqi judiciary had also announced the seizure of real estate and factories valued at approximately 69 billion Iraqi dinars, as part of the pursuit of funds and assets suspected of being linked to the case.
The Federal Integrity Commission announced that a custodial sentence with aggravated imprisonment had been handed down in absentia against MP Mohammed Al-Karbouli for committing the offence of bribery.