An Iraqi court has sentenced two prominent politicians and the head of a state-run enterprise responsible for distributing oil products to prison in a corruption case, officials announced Thursday. The sentences are part of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's pledge to combat corruption since taking office earlier this year.
Muthanna al-Samarrai, head of the Azm Alliance, an influential Sunni party with 15 seats in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament, was sentenced to six years in prison. Lawmaker Ziad al-Janabi, from the smaller Sunni party Tashree, received a five-year sentence, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The politicians were found to have benefited from contracts involving the North Refineries Company and South Refineries Company, state-owned enterprises responsible for processing crude oil and producing petroleum derivatives. INA reported that al-Samarrai was ordered to repay 30 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $19.8 million) and al-Janabi to repay 4 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $2.6 million). Their respective political parties did not immediately comment on the sentences.
Hussein Talib, former Director General of the Oil Products Distribution Company, was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison in a related case. He was found to have intervened in awarding contracts for personal gain and ordered to repay 55 billion dinars (approximately $36.3 million).
In June, dozens of political officials were arrested on corruption charges. Those arrests included members of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Shiite political bloc and individuals from the Azm Alliance.