Sadr backs anti-corruption drive as arrests widen across political elite

BAGHDAD – Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has backed Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's sweeping anti-corruption campaign, urging the government to pursue corruption cases regardless of the political affiliation of those accused, as authorities expanded one of Iraq's largest anti-graft operations in recent years.

A source familiar with the matter said Sadr, leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement, conveyed a message to Zaidi through close associates expressing "full and absolute support" for the government's campaign and calling on the prime minister not to retreat from prosecuting corruption cases, irrespective of the positions or political loyalties of those targeted.

The source said Sadr described fighting corruption as a decisive battle against entrenched networks of influence within state institutions and stressed that legal proceedings should continue until all suspects were brought to justice in order to strengthen the rule of law and restore public confidence in government institutions.

The endorsement came after Iraqi security forces detained around 47 politicians, lawmakers, senior officials and businessmen across Baghdad and several provinces on Sunday in what security and judicial sources described as the first phase of a broader campaign that could eventually target more senior figures.

State media identified those detained as including parliamentarians, former lawmakers, senior ministry officials and businessmen. Among those named were Muthanna al-Samarrai, head of the al-Azm Alliance, several sitting members of parliament, Oil Ministry Undersecretary Ali Maarij and former government adviser Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie.

Separately, Iraqi authorities took custody of eight additional suspects arrested in Erbil, including three lawmakers, transferring them to Baghdad to face legal proceedings on corruption-related charges, according to security sources.

Security forces sealed entrances to Baghdad's fortified Green Zone before dawn while Counter-Terrorism Service units and other security agencies carried out coordinated raids on homes and offices across the capital and in Babil, Maysan and Kirkuk.

Officials said the operation proceeded without resistance or security incidents, with those detained handed over to Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity. Investigators also seized large sums of cash during searches of homes and offices, according to security sources.

The Integrity Commission said the operation resulted from coordination between judicial, executive and legislative authorities, while government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi said the campaign would continue as a central pillar of the new administration's reform programme.

The crackdown has also drawn support from across Iraq's political spectrum.

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law coalition, welcomed the arrests and voiced support for the government's campaign, while the Reconstruction and Development Coalition led by former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also backed the operation and warned against what it described as attempts by those implicated to spread misinformation.

Parliament's Integrity Committee described the campaign as the first to reach senior political figures on such a scale, while Iraq's Bar Association declined to provide legal representation for those detained, saying it supported serious efforts to combat corruption.

The campaign follows a series of recent dismissals of senior officials over allegations of corruption and comes amid renewed scrutiny of Iraq's so-called "Theft of the Century" scandal involving billions of dollars allegedly embezzled from the tax authority.

Prime Minister Zaidi has made tackling corruption a cornerstone of his government's programme, promising institutional reform, greater financial oversight and digital governance.

Iraq remains one of the world's most corruption-plagued countries, ranking 136th out of 182 countries in Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, with official estimates suggesting between $150 billion and $300 billion has been lost to corruption and mismanagement since 2003.

Officials say the arrests are continuing and that further investigations could widen the campaign to include additional politicians, senior civil servants and business figures in the coming weeks.