Shafaq News- Baghdad
An Iraqi court sentenced former deputy culture minister Sarbast Omar Hassan in absentia to six years in prison for harming public funds through violations linked to a contract with a Danish company to exhibit the Nimrud Treasure abroad, the Federal Integrity Commission announced on Thursday.
The commission said Hassan remains at large following his conviction.
The case concerned a 2014 Culture Ministry contract with Denmark-based United Exhibits Group Holding to display the Nimrud Treasure in European museums. The Integrity Commission had previously pursued legal action over the agreement, saying the company lacked the financial standing and capacity needed to protect the collection and that the contract contained provisions unfavorable to the ministry. The exhibition project ultimately stalled after United Exhibits Group ran into serious financial difficulties.
The Nimrud Treasure is a collection of Assyrian gold jewelry and other artifacts discovered at the ancient city of Nimrud in Iraq’s Nineveh province. Nimrud served as a major Assyrian capital in the ninth century BC and suffered extensive destruction under ISIS rule between 2014 and 2016.
Read more: Inside Nimrud, the Assyrian capital that survived ISIS
On June 28, Iraq launched the Dawn Crackdown anti-corruption campaign under Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. A Shafaq News review documented at least 210 officials, lawmakers, employees, and business figures detained during the campaign’s first six weeks, while authorities have also sought to recover public funds and widen investigations across state institutions.
Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi