ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq has extradited 51 people suspected of smuggling funds out of the country, the Integrity Commission said Monday, with a recent agreement signed with a global intelligence and security consultancy aiming to strengthen Baghdad’s fight against endemic corruption.

The agreement between the Integrity Commission and The Soufan Group includes international cooperation, training and capacity building, knowledge transfer, financial investigations, and providing technical and legal support in tracking and extraditing wanted individuals and recovering smuggled assets, a statement from the commission said.

“The Commission has succeeded in extraditing 51 individuals wanted in corruption cases from outside Iraq during the past period,” commission head Mohammed Ali al-Lami said, during a meeting with Soufan Group Vice President Andre Khoury. 

Iraq’s instability in the past years has caused significant damage to public funds and led some individuals to smuggle funds outside of the country, according to Lami. 

Additionally, the agreement includes assistance in establishing direct communication channels with relevant authorities outside of Iraq, including Interpol. 

Despite government efforts to clamp down on corruption and bribery, Iraq ranked 140 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The Soufan Group is a New York-based firm founded by former FBI agent Ali Soufan. It specializes in investigations, threat assessment, and strategic security advising, according to its website.