On June 22, 2023, Judge Haider Hanoun, the former head of Iraq's Integrity Commission, the government's anti-corruption agency, presented a document during a press conference in Baghdad regarding cases uncovered by the commission. Hanoun has since been replaced as the head of the Commission of Integrity.

On Monday, Iraq's anti-corruption agency announced an investigation into a prime ministerial aide over an alleged audio recording where he referred to a bribe as being too small. Corruption is deeply rooted in Iraq's state institutions, but those in power often escape accountability. The aide, Abdel Karim Al Faisal, denied the accusation and called the audio clip 'fabricated' on Facebook. In the recording obtained by Iraqi media, a man purported to be Faisal criticized his interlocutor during a phone call for the bribe being 'only $1 million'.

The Commission of Integrity stated that it was acting under a directive from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani to investigate the audio recording attributed to the head of the Commission of Advisers to the Prime Minister's Office. The commission also noted it was working in coordination with a criminal court judge handling anti-corruption cases. AFP was unable to authenticate the recording. In recent weeks, several leaks of alleged recordings have caused turmoil in Iraq.

Last month, the chief of the tax bureau, Ali Alawi, was suspended for 60 days following an investigation triggered by a leak. An audio recording attributed to him led to accusations that he had granted tax reductions. He was also detained, according to a source from the Commission of Integrity who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. The former head of the integrity commission was dismissed and later given an advisory role at the justice ministry.

This followed a probe announced by judicial authorities in September into the integrity commission chief over alleged audio recordings related to suspected bribery. In Iraq, it is not uncommon for public officials to settle scores by trading accusations. One of the country's largest corruption cases involved the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds from 2021 to 2022. In late August, arrest warrants were issued for a businessman alleged to be the main suspect in that case, and for a former government official.

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