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Over $55 million in illicit gains: Iraq sentences two lawmakers to ten years each

Sep. 23, 2026 • 3 min read
Image of Over $55 million in illicit gains: Iraq sentences two lawmakers to ten years each From left: Lawmakers Ashwaq al-Jubouri and Alia Nassif. Photos: Handout
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Nassif and Jubouri are not the first members of Sudani’s coalition to be sentenced as part of Zaidi’s anti-corruption campaign in recent months.

 

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court on Wednesday issued several multi-year imprisonment sentences against two lawmakers from former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s bloc, ordering them to repay over $55 million made in illicit gains.

 

In separate statements, Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission announced that Alia Nassif and Ashwaq al-Jubouri, both MPs from Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition, received two separate imprisonment sentences each: One for seven years, and another for three years.

 

Nassif and Jubouri were arrested during the anti-corruption crackdown by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi that started with a sweeping raid of Baghdad’s Green Zone in late June, leading to the arrest of dozens of high-profile Iraqi officials and figures.

 

“The value of the illicit enrichment in the convicted MP’s assets exceeds 14 billion dinars [around $10.6 million] and 12 million dollars,” the integrity commission said in regards to Nassif.

 

Accordingly, the court sentenced Nassif to seven years, and ordered her to repay the aforementioned amount plus a fine equivalent to that amount, totaling more than 61 billion dinars, which is around $46 million.

 

This is not the first time Nassif has been the subject of controversy. In July, she was ordered to pay compensation to Hussein Yousef al-Tamimi, legal advisor to Iraq’s interior minister, for “insult and defamation carried out while he performed his official duties.”

 

In the case of Jubouri, she was also sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, according to the commission which noted that illicit gains amounted to over 2.1 billion Iraqi dinars (more than $1.6) and nearly $3 million.

 

Jubouri is ordered to repay that amount and an equivalent fine, totaling around 12 billion dinars (more than $9 million).

 

“The court also issued a separate sentence of three years’ imprisonment for the convicted individual for the crime of concealing information in the financial disclosure form,” read an identical excerpt from the statements applying to both Nassif and Jubouri, adding that the court has also upheld the seizure of their movable and immovable assets.

 

Nassif and Jubouri are not the first members of Sudani’s coalition to be sentenced as part of Zaidi’s anti-corruption campaign in recent months.

 

Earlier this month, another lawmaker of Sudani’s coalition Bahaa al-Nouri was also sentenced to seven years for what the commission said was the illegal acquisition of around $15 million.

 

A senior advisor to Sudani Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie was also arrested during the June operation.

 

The initial raid saw the arrest of at least 21 people. By late July, Baghdad had seized over $125 million and 380 kilograms of gold and jewelry in a corruption case involving Adnan al-Jumaili, the detained oil ministry undersecretary for refining affairs.

 

The campaign has so far kept its pace, with the integrity commission reporting on Sunday that 191 arrest warrants were issued in August, including 27 for high-ranking officials.

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