Iraqi Forces Raid the Green Zone as Part of a Major Anti-Corruption Campaign
Al-Zaidi translates his anti-corruption commitments into action through a series of new measures, including expanding the powers of oversight and judicial institutions and enforcing arrest warrants against influential figures.
On Sunday, Iraqi authorities began executing judicial arrest warrants targeting political and government officials, members of parliament, security officials, and business figures inside Baghdad’s Green Zone in connection with corruption and abuse-of-power cases. The operation reflects Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s pledge to safeguard public funds and combat corruption in all its forms.
According to security sources, a joint force comprising the Counter-Terrorism Service, the Iraqi Army, and specialized anti-corruption security agencies closed all entrances to the heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday morning. The area houses the Iraqi Parliament, government institutions, and diplomatic missions. The closure coincided with a large-scale campaign of raids and searches targeting the homes of lawmakers, politicians, and businessmen. The only individuals permitted to leave the government district were holders of official examination cards, while everyone else was subjected to rigorous security screening.
Footage of the raids, accompanied by a heavy security deployment throughout the Green Zone, quickly spread across social media platforms.
The security sources added that special forces arrested more than eight individuals before dawn on Sunday, including members of the Iraqi Parliament, pursuant to judicial warrants related to financial and administrative corruption cases. They also reported that units of the Counter-Terrorism Service entered the Al-Shaab district in northern Baghdad to execute similar arrest warrants.
According to the same sources, the arrest campaign extended beyond the Green Zone and Al-Shaab to several other districts, including Al-Yarmouk, Zayouna, and Al-Mansour.
These unprecedented security measures coincide with reports that an extensive list of judicial prosecutions has been issued against senior officials, members of security details, and businessmen accused of illicit enrichment and the embezzlement of public funds. The campaign follows commitments made by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi after assuming office, when he declared that combating corruption would be “the state’s foremost battle” and emphasized that recovering public assets and prosecuting those responsible were essential steps toward restoring public confidence in state institutions.
Al-Zaidi’s government has adopted a series of new measures, including strengthening the authority of oversight bodies and judicial institutions, activating arrest warrants against influential figures, reopening corruption cases that had remained dormant for years, and tightening oversight of government contracts and major infrastructure projects.
The government is also working to expand cooperation among security institutions, oversight agencies, and the judiciary in order to dismantle corruption networks operating across multiple state institutions and recover public funds transferred abroad.
Last week, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced new developments in the case involving Deputy Minister of Oil Adnan Al-Jumaili, who remains in custody on corruption charges. The Council also released new photographs documenting the seizure of assets exceeding 100 billion Iraqi dinars.
Quoting the investigating judge of the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, the Supreme Judicial Council stated that investigations into “Deputy Minister of Oil for Refining Affairs, the detained defendant Adnan Al-Jumaili,” resulted in the arrest of the former governor of Salah ad-Din Province and its current Director of Health, Raed Al-Jubouri, based on confessions allegedly made by Al-Jumaili during questioning.
The investigating judge further stated that the continuation of the investigation and the careful tracing of financial proceeds generated through irregularities in projects linked to the suspects led to the seizure of more than 67 billion Iraqi dinars and one million US dollars in cash, concealed inside private residences and buried four meters underground.
He explained that the money was recovered using specialized excavation equipment, bringing the total value of assets seized in the case to more than 98 billion Iraqi dinars and 11 million US dollars.
The legal measures taken in the same case also included the seizure and freezing of 70 real estate properties, 21 modern vehicles, and approximately three kilograms of gold jewelry.
The current campaign represents an effort to restore the confidence of the Iraqi public, which has witnessed widespread protests in recent years against corruption, deteriorating public services, and unemployment. Many Iraqis hope that the latest measures will establish genuine accountability, free from political selectivity or partisan considerations.
According to political analysts, the campaign’s success will not be measured solely by the number of arrests carried out, but by the government’s ability to secure final judicial convictions, recover stolen public funds, and prevent corruption networks from re-emerging within state institutions.
Despite the momentum generated by the launch of the campaign, Al-Zaidi’s government continues to face significant challenges, including resistance from entrenched political and economic power centers, the risk that corruption cases may be exploited for political rivalries, and the need for deep institutional and legislative reforms capable of ensuring the long-term sustainability of anti-corruption efforts.
Should the government succeed in continuing this campaign without political interference or selective enforcement, this period could mark a major turning point in Iraq’s fight against corruption and pave the way for broader reforms aimed at rebuilding state institutions and strengthening citizens’ confidence in them.
