ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday reiterated that the government’s anti-corruption campaign will target all those involved regardless of their affiliations, vowing to retrieve stolen public funds.

Under the directive of Zaidi, the Iraqi government launched a large-scale anti-graft campaign in late June, when security forces entered Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone and arrested scores of senior officials and lawmakers over alleged corruption and theft of public resources.

In an interview with Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya published on Thursday, the Iraqi premier stated that cooperation between the government and the judiciary is at a high level to continue the efforts, aimed at preserving the rights of the Iraqi people and recovering their money.

“We have not practiced any selectivity in dealing with corruption cases. This is a criminal matter unrelated to sectarianism, nationalism, or any other affiliations,” said Zaidi.

Zaidi’s campaign has enjoyed broad support from the Iraqi public as well as myriad notable politicians and officials across the country. Some, however, have criticized the mechanisms applied to pursue the suspects.

The Iraqi prime minister noted that it is “natural” for those who are concerned to express displeasure with the legal procedures taken by the government to crack down on corruption.

“There are no red lines in our efforts to protect public funds, and no exceptions for those involved in corruption,” Zaidi emphasized. “Those involved in corruption have no option but to return the stolen funds, as these are the funds of the Iraqi people.”

The Iraqi judiciary on Thursday shared photos of 14 billion dinars (~$10.7 million) recovered from underground drain pipes allegedly relating to the ongoing corruption case against detained oil ministry undersecretary Adnan al-Jumaili, bringing the total cash confiscated in the case to over $130 million.

The retrieval of another 25 billion Iraqi dinars (~$19.1 million) along with one million in US dollars and five kilograms of gold were announced on Monday.

The Iraqi government has officially confirmed that at least 21 people were detained during the widespread crackdown operation – dubbed Operation Dawn – on corruption charges. Iraqi state media had initially reported that 47 people were arrested.