18 Employees Arrested in Nasiriyah Municipality over Alleged Corruption Cases

Security forces, accompanied by a team from the Integrity Commission, carried out a major arrest campaign at the Nasiriyah Municipality in Dhi Qar province on Tuesday over alleged corruption cases, according to an informed source at the provincial governorate.

The source said the campaign, described as one of the largest of its kind at the municipality, resulted in the arrest of 18 employees, including senior officials and retired staff. Security forces also raided the homes of several retirees and arrested them during the afternoon.

The detainees were subject to arrest warrants issued by the Nasiriyah Investigation Court for Integrity Cases, under Article 341 of Iraq’s amended Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.

The arrests are part of a broader series of judicial and security measures targeting the Nasiriyah Municipality in recent months over suspected corruption, involving current and former officials, employees and intermediaries.

Investigations have focused primarily on alleged manipulation in the distribution of around 40,000 residential plots, as well as cases involving damage to public funds and alleged financial waste in various contracts and transactions.

Arrest warrants had previously been issued for several senior municipal officials, including former directors and officials in the Property Affairs, Urban Planning and Land Distribution Committee departments. The investigations have also extended to employees in the real estate registration sector and intermediaries.

In a related case, a former official in the municipality’s Property Affairs Division was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of accepting bribes, manipulating land ownership, allocation and sale transactions, and falsifying documents.