ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A Baghdad court on Monday issued varying prison sentences for suspects in the infamous “Heist of the Century,” over two years after the case was initially uncovered.

The Heist of the Century, the largest corruption scandal in Iraq’s modern history, involves the embezzlement of $2.5 billion from tax funds between September 2021 and August 2022, facilitated by 247 checks issued by five companies. The case was brought to public attention following an investigation by the Iraqi finance ministry in October 2022.

Noor Zuhair Jassim, the main suspect in the case, was sentenced in absentia by Baghdad’s Karkh Criminal Court to 10 years in prison, according to a statement from the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council on Monday.

Jassim, then-managing director of an oil services company, was arrested by security forces at Baghdad International Airport as he was trying to flee the country soon after the news broke out in October 2022.

He was released on bail in November 2022 to facilitate the return of the stolen money, after he admitted to embezzling over $1.1 billion. The Iraqi government has announced the retrieval of some of the funds, but the majority remains missing over two years later.

Yousif al-Kilabi, member of the parliament’s integrity committee, previously claimed that Jasim has “many political partners,” and that “a large part of the money he embezzled was transferred outside Iraq and invested in hotels and projects.”

Jassim was set to appear before the court multiple times since but never did.

The court also sentenced Raed Juhi, chief of staff of former Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, and “several other employees involved in the crime” to six years in prison.

Haitham al-Jabouri, the former head of the parliamentary finance committee, was also sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement, according to the statement. Jabouri was arrested in relation to the case in November 2022, but was released in early 2023 on bail.