Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister AliAl-Zaidi plans to broaden the government’s “Dawn Crackdown” (Sawlat Al-Fajr)after returning from his official visit to the United States next week, withthe next phase expected to target influential political figures accused ofcorruption for the first time, informed government sources told Shafaq News onThursday.
Al-Zaidi has secured backingfrom the judiciary, influential political forces, and prominent public figures,strengthening the government’s ability to move ahead, one of the sources said,adding that the prime minister had rejected attempts to shield the “big heads”implicated in graft, insisting that every suspect face justice.
Prosecutors, another sourcerevealed, are preparing tougher measures against senior suspects as part of abroader effort to reinforce the rule of law, prosecute corruption, and recoverpublic funds.
: Iraq’s Dawn Crackdown by numbers: 67 arrests explained
Launched on June 28 underAl-Zaidi's direction, the campaign resulted in at least 47 arrests during itsfirst 24 hours, according to official figures. Sources within the FederalCommission of Integrity later told Shafaq News the number had risen to 67 andis expected to surpass 200 in the coming weeks.
Since then, security forcesand integrity investigators have raided the homes of lawmakers, politicians,and business figures in Baghdad and other provinces over allegations of illicitenrichment and misuse of public funds. Early operations focused on networkslinked to border crossings, customs, the energy sector, and tax administration,leading to the seizure and freezing of assets worth hundreds of millions ofdollars that were later returned to the state treasury.
A government source toldShafaq News earlier that those detained remain under questioning under strictconfidentiality measures, with visits and outside communication suspended tosafeguard the investigations. Judicial preparations had been completed forcases involving the health, oil, and electricity ministries, as well as funds,properties, and investment projects linked to officials in the United States,Europe, and Turkiye.
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