Iraq arrests suspects in Diyala bribery and Kirkuk extortion cases

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission investigators caught a Diyala provincial government employee receiving the first installment of an agreed $10,000 bribe from a citizen on Wednesday, the commission stated.

The employee, who headed an investigative committee in the provincial government’s Legal Affairs Department, allegedly demanded the money in two installments in exchange for recommendations favoring the complainant.

In Kirkuk, security forces also arrested an employee at a government hospital over allegations that he financially extorted female colleagues and women visiting the facility, a local source told Shafaq News. The investigation is continuing to determine the circumstances and number of alleged victims.

Iraqi authorities detained 31 officials, employees, contractors, and other suspects across seven corruption cases between July 20 and 26, as part of the ongoing anti-corruption “Dawn Crackdown” operation.

Read more: Iraq's Dawn Crackdown by numbers: 67 arrests explained