A sanctioned deputy oil minister was reportedly among those detained in the anti-corruption raids
Iraq has launched a major anti-corruption crackdown ahead of Prime Minister Ali al‑Zaidi’s visit to Washington next month. The raids reportedly targeted Deputy Oil Minister Ali Maarij, whom the US had previously accused of aiding Iran.
Elite counterterrorism units stormed houses inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone early on Sunday, according to media reports, citing security sources. The area houses the US Embassy as well as other diplomatic missions, international institutions’ offices and homes of high-ranking government officials and prominent politicians.
On Sunday, the Iraqi INA state news agency reported that a minimum of 47 officials had been arrested during the raids. It also released a list of those detained, which included 15 names. Among them was Maarij, who the agency said was detained on “corruption charges.”
The US imposed sanctions against Maarij in May, accusing him of diverting Iraqi oil to benefit Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. He was also accused of facilitating Iranian oil exports by mixing them with Iraqi oil and using falsified documents. At the time, the Iraqi Oil Ministry denied the allegations.
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