Iraq: Assets frozen of 9 officials including Al-Maliki's son-in-law 

The Central Bank of Iraq has decided to freeze the assets of nine former and current officials, including the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, on the grounds of non-payment of debts owed to the state.

This came in an official circular of Iraqi banks, issued late Thursday evening.

The decision stipulated: “The seizure of movable and immovable assets for each of Yasser Sakheil (Al-Maliki’s son-in-law), his brother Luqman Sakheil (former governor of Karbala) Aqeel Al-Taraihi (close to Al-Maliki), MP Zuhair Al-Araji and Hajem Al-Hasani (former head of the Governing Council).”

The list of names also includes Ali Al-Quraishi (an official at the Foreign Ministry), Walid Rida (an official in the prime minister’s office), Saeed Khedr and Abdullah Muhammad Abdullah (positions unknown).

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The bank’s circular did not mention the reason for these sanctions, but a source in the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the aforementioned officials did not pay debts owed to the state in return for renting homes belonging to the government.

Al-Maliki headed the Iraqi government from 2006 to 2014, and during his rule, Daesh succeeded in controlling one-third of the country.

On more than one occasion, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi pledged to refer all corrupt personalities to justice, regardless of their position.

The fight against corruption is at the top of the demands of the massive protests that Iraq has witnessed since last October.

According to Transparency International’s index, Iraq ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world over the past years, as international reports referred to alarming statistics of embezzlement incidents.