ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The head of Iraq’s integrity commission on Tuesday discussed strengthening cooperation with French anti-corruption and asset recovery agencies during a visit to Paris as part of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s delegation.

During the meeting, Mohammed Ali al-Lami stressed that international cooperation “is particularly crucial for pursuing individuals convicted of or wanted for corruption, as well as for tracing, freezing, and recovering smuggled assets and funds,” the Integrity Commission said in a statement.

The meeting came on the sidelines of Zaidi’s visit to Paris, which began Monday and marks the first leg of his inaugural visit to Europe since becoming prime minister. He is set to travel onward to Germany.

The two sides discussed cooperation and the exchange of expertise in preventing corruption and strengthening integrity and transparency. They also discussed “benefiting from the French experience in assessing corruption risks and developing compliance and integrity programs in the public and private sectors, in addition to building the capabilities of Iraqi prosecutors through specialized training and exchanging expertise and modern technology.”

The meeting also comes amid an anti-corruption crackdown by Zaidi that started with a sweeping raid of Baghdad’s Green Zone in late June, which saw the arrest of several high-ranking Iraqi officials.

By late July, Iraq had seized over $125 million and 380 kilograms of gold and jewelry hidden in various places in a corruption case involving Adnan al-Jumaili, the detained oil ministry undersecretary for refining affairs.

“Lami underscored that corruption is no longer a local threat confined to the borders of a single state; rather, it has become a transnational phenomenon demanding concerted international efforts to combat it,” the commission said.

In late August, Iraq formed a special committee to contact authorities in other countries where stolen funds are suspected to be held, with Lebanon sticking out as the main destination in question.

Jamal Kocher, a member of the Iraqi parliament's finance committee, told The New Region at the time that an estimated minimum of $18 billion had been taken to Lebanon after 2003, while the number could exceed $40 billion.

He added that the numbers are part of the $140 billion that former Iraqi President Barham Salih had said were smuggled abroad.