Shafaq News/ Iraq's new government will hire a private international company to probe the scandalous tax fraud domestically dubbed as the "theft of the century", a statement by Mohammad Shia al-sudani's cabinet said on Tuesday.

The latest scandal, uncovered last month by former acting finance minister, has caused a political storm in corruption-plagued Iraq.

In the embezzlement, an amount of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (almost $2.5 billion) was fraudulently paid to five companies by the General Commission of Taxes, an office within the Ministry of Finance.

"The council of ministers has authorized the prime minister's office to hire a major international company for the financial scrutiny," the statement said.

The statement said that the ministry of planning shall enlist the contract as a project in the investment budget of 2022.

"Corruption is a serious threat to the Iraqi state, more dangerous than all other threats that have weighed on Iraq," Prime Minister al-Sudani said in a press conference early this month.

He vowed to tackle the dilemma.

"The citizens want to feel that there is a sense of responsibility and that looted money is returned," he said.

The head of Iraq's Commission of Integrity, the country's official anti-corruption body, submitted his resignation on Sunday as a wave of scandals rock the country.

Prime Minister al-Sudani quickly accepted the resignation and picked judge Haider Hanoon Zayer, who assumed his duties today, as his replacement.