ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi security forces on Friday detained an undersecretary for the electricity ministry, as the government continues to clamp down on corruption.

“A security force belonging to the Federal Integrity Commission detained the electricity ministry’s undersecretary for transmission and distribution affairs Khalid Ghazai Attiya,” Iraqi state media reported on Friday, citing sources.

The report did not clarify on what grounds the arrest was being carried out.

Attiya’s official job title is “senior chief engineer,” and he has held multiple high-ranking positions within the Iraqi electricity ministry since his appointment in 1998.

In addition to his role as undersecretary, Attiya has also been the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Company for Electricity Transmission/Northern Region since 2019. He is also listed as the ministry’s representative on the Iraqi-German joint committee, and as the head of the German KfW Development Bank Loan Team from 2017 until now.

The Iraqi electricity ministry’s website states that Attiya has “received more than 50 letters of appreciation from various entities” throughout his tenure, while adding that he has never been the subject of any penalties.

In June, Attiya conducted filed supervision for the ministry’s “comprehensive campaign” targeting illegal connections from the national power grid. The campaign resulted in imposing fines on violators amounting to around 3.2 billion Iraqi dinars (~$2.4 million).

His arrest comes amid a renewed crackdown on corruption suspects by the Iraqi government under Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.

Iraqi authorities announced the arrests of former Labor and Social Affairs Minister Ahmed al-Asadi and Former Salahaddin Governor Ahmed al-Jubouri, also known as Abu Mazin, on corruption charges earlier in the week.

The anti-graft crackdown started in late June with a sweeping raid of Baghdad’s Green Zone, where much of the Iraqi government’s administrative nerve is concentrated. The raid saw the arrest of several high-ranking Iraqi officials.

Zaidi’s clampdown on corruption has witnessed widespread support across the Iraqi political sphere, including the ruling Coordination Framework.