Shafaq News/ Iraq's Federal Integrity Commission announced on Wednesday that an official in the Directorate of Agriculture in Al-Diwaniya has been sentenced to prison and fined for embezzling over 600 million dinars ($460,000) from public funds.

In a statement, the Government Media and Communications Office said that the Criminal Court of Al-Qadisiyah found the official guilty of "exploiting her position to illegally seize 602,183,680 dinars from agricultural land rental revenues in 2022."

The embezzled funds represent rental payments that went missing due to procedural violations, with some amounts not recorded in official registers.

It is noteworthy that financial corruption remains a significant challenge in Iraq, with Transparency International ranking the country 154 out of 180 in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The country also ranked fourth as the most corrupt in the Arab World after Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Libya.

Various forms of corruption, including bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, and influence peddling, have a detrimental impact on the Iraqi economy, leading to a lack of basic services, increased poverty, and political instability.

The pervasive corruption within the Iraqi state has resulted in the misappropriation of untold billions from its oil wealth over the years.

After assuming his position, PM Al-Sudani pledged to "combat corruption" in government institutions; so far, many officials have been referred to the judiciary, but political and sectarian parties still protect many others.