ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s integrity commission on Wednesday said lawmaker Bahaa al-Nouri was sentenced to seven years for what it said was the illegal acquisition of around $15 million, amid a sweeping government crackdown on corruption.

The integrity commission said Nouri has been sentenced to seven years for “illicitly acquired assets” totaling around $15 million. He has also been “ordered to repay” around $30 million “representing the value of the illicit gains and an equivalent fine.” 

Nouri was a parliament member for former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition.

Iraq’s Law No. (6) of 2006 on Replacing Members of the House of Representatives mandates that the parliamentary membership of a lawmaker is terminated in case of “the issuance of a final judicial ruling against the member for a felony in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.”

The sentencing comes amid a renewed clampdown on corruption by the Iraqi government under Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, which started in late June with a sweeping raid of Baghdad’s Green Zone, where much of the Iraqi government’s administrative nerve is concentrated. 

One of the main targets of the operation early on was Nouri’s apartment, where security forces reportedly stayed for nearly three hours before seizing cash and three vehicles.

Several high-profile political figures were arrested on graft charges following the commencement of the June operation, including Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, a senior adviser to Sudani.

It is not the first time Nouri’s name makes headlines. He had also been dismissed by Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition earlier in 2023, after footage showed two women assaulting a traffic police officer, with one of them threatening the officer using Nouri’s name, sparking widespread reactions.

Zaidi’s clampdown on corruption has witnessed widespread support across the Iraqi political sphere, including the ruling Coordination Framework, which the State of Law Coalition and the Reconstruction and Development Coalition are also part of.

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.