Iraq to probe major state contracts in corruption crackdown

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Thursday ordered corruption investigations into several major government contracts as part of his new administration’s anti-corruption campaign and “efforts to protect public funds.”

Al-Zaidi directed oversight authorities and law enforcement agencies to examine contracts previously signed by ministries and state institutions to determine whether they “complied with Iraqi laws, safeguarded public interests, and resulted in financial harm to the state.” The investigations will also seek to identify those who benefited from the contracts “at the expense of the public interest,” in addition to uncovering negligence, abuse of authority, and potential misuse of public funds.

Although Al-Zaidi’s office did not offer further details, the investigations could affect contracts tied to infrastructure, procurement, energy, and public spending at a time when the government has pledged to attract foreign investment and reform state institutions. After taking office earlier this month, Al-Zaidi described corruption as “an obstacle to development that delays the progress of the state” and vowed to “protect public funds and pursue administrative and financial corruption in all its forms.”

Iraq ranked 136th globally in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index with a score of 28 out of 100, keeping Iraq among the world’s lowest-ranked countries in public-sector transparency and making corruption one of the country’s most persistent political and economic challenges despite repeated reform campaigns launched by successive governments since 2003.

The country has also faced repeated corruption scandals in recent years, including the 2022 “theft of the century” case involving roughly $2.5 billion in missing tax funds, one of the largest financial scandals in modern Iraqi history.

Read more: Iraq's corrupt maze: Oil, bribes, and broken trust