DUBAI, UAE - Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission said Tuesday that a court sentenced a bank branch manager in Kirkuk to 15 years in prison for embezzling student tuition money.

The Kirkuk Criminal Court issued the sentence in absentia against Namir Khalil Muhammad Ali Saeed al-Dawodi, who managed a private bank branch inside a university in the Altun Kupri (Pirde) area of Kirkuk.

According to the commission, Dawodi embezzled about 234.9 million Iraqi dinars (roughly $180,000) in January and February 2022. The money came from tuition fees paid by university students.

The court said it based its ruling on evidence including statements from the bank's legal representative, student complaints, and findings from an internal investigation. Dawodi fled before the trial.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court issued an arrest warrant, a travel ban, and ordered the seizure of Dawodi’s assets.

The Federal Integrity Commission investigates corruption and financial crimes across Iraq.

The Maysan Integrity Investigation Court in late May announced the recovery of 384 million dinars (over $293,000) that was misappropriated by an oil products distribution company for three years.

Iraq ranks 140 out of 180 when it comes to countries’ corruption rates, according to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International.

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. The Iraqi government has announced the retrieval of some of the funds, but the majority remains missing almost three years later.