Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Iraq orders travel ban on Baghdad-imposed governor of Kirkuk over corruption claims

Iraq orders travel ban on Baghdad-imposed governor of Kirkuk over corruption claims

Iraq's main anti-corruption body on Tuesday announced it had issued a summoning order and placed a travel ban on the Baghdad-imposed governor of the disputed province of Kirkuk province, Rakan al-Jabouri, as well as the arrest of nearly two dozen other public servants.
The Iraqi Integrity Commission said in a statement that an investigation court had issued the orders on allegations of "the waste of public money in the project of constructing schools using the prefabricated construction method referred to a foreign company" for about 5.9 billion dinars, nearly half a million US dollars.

Prefabrication refers to a method of construction that involves assembling premade building components such as walls, on-site. The costs associated with this method of construction are cheaper and, from the commission statement, are presumably far lower than the budget allocated for the projects.

It added that the court had also issued "arrest warrants and travel bans in the same case for 23 employees of the province and the General Directorate of Education, including its former director-general."

The charges have reportedly been brought under the provisions of Article 340 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which stipulates that public servants convicted of intentionally wasting funds or causing damage to the interests of the entity for which they work can be imprisoned for a period not exceeding seven years.

At the end of last month, the federal anti-corruption body announced it was regulating the Kirkuk construction project that includes the building of schools and that the contractor company had tampered with the basic designs and reduced the number of schools from 25 to 18, contrary to the terms of the contracts and without obtaining the approval of the Federal Ministry of Planning.

The commission has previously ordered travel freezes against dozens of officials in Kirkuk, as well as employees working in the inner circle of Governor Jabouri, who took the post after the 2017 attack on Kurdish Peshmerga in the province by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias. The assault was in response to the Kurdistan Region's historic independence referendum just weeks before.

Baghdad's military move eventually led to Jabouri, an ethnic Arab, replacing then-governor Najmaldin Karim, a Kurd.

Jabouri has since been involved in several scandals and charged with corruption. Nonetheless, he continues to hold the position of acting provincial governor.

The Kurdish community in Kirkuk has suffered countless injustices since then, including being pressured to leave their homes by self-proclaimed owners of Arab descent using property deeds issued during Saddam Hussein's anti-Kurd ethnic cleansing program known as "Arabization."

The embattled Middle Eastern nation continues to rank high on Transparency International's list for corruption, fraud, and mismanagement of state institutions, some of the most significant challenges facing the country since the fall of the former regime in 2003.

According to the organization's 2019 Corruption Index, Iraq ranks 162nd, the 18th most corrupt country out of a total of 180.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×