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Third Iraq minister probed on corruption charges 

November 21, 2019 at 4:26 pm

Iraq’s Commission of Integrity (COI) announced today that it has summoned a third minister on charges of corruption and mismanagement.

The COI said in a statement that the court investigating integrity cases in Kirkuk Governorate issued a summons against the former minister of higher education and scientific research, who it did not name.

Since 2003, nine ministers have managed Iraq’s higher education portfolio: Ziad Al-Aswad, Tahir Albakaa, Sami Al-Mudhaffar, Abd Dhiyab Al-Ajili, Ali Al-Adeeb, Hussain Al-Shahristani, Abdul Razzaq Al-Issa, Jamal Al-Adil, and current minister Qusay Al-Suhail.

They have occupied the ministry during the transitional period, then in two interim governments headed by Ayad Allawi and Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, then through two successive terms headed Nouri Al-Maliki followed by Haider Al-Abadi, and then the current government headed by Adil Abdul-Mahdi.

READ: Thousands of students join anti-establishment protests in Iraq

On Tuesday, the COI summoned the current Minister of Culture Abdul Amir Mayah Madi against the backdrop of exploitation of prohibited places in the Euphrates River, while yesterday it called former Minister of Communications Hassan Kazem Al-Rashid in for questioning on charges of administrative corruption.

Iraq came 13th among the world’s most corrupt countries, a report by Transparency International revealed earlier this year, as the country struggles to recover on both the security, political and economic levels after a strenuous war against  Daesh.

Combating corruption is at the top of the demands being made by protesters who have taken to the streets for over a month.