Erbil and Baghdad agree to arrest corruption suspects

According to KurdPress, the Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission and the Kurdistan Region Integrity Commission announced in a joint statement that they have agreed to increase coordination to arrest individuals wanted in corruption cases and hand them over to the judiciary.

On August 25 and 26, 2026, a high-ranking delegation from the Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission, headed by the head of this institution, traveled to Erbil at the invitation of Ahmed Anwar, head of the Kurdistan Region Integrity Commission. The purpose of this trip has been announced to develop a new strategy and strengthen the supervisory role of integrity institutions throughout Iraq.According to the joint statement, the two sides agreed to increase the level of coordination in such a way that administrative and geographical borders do not become obstacles to law enforcement.

They also emphasized that “working in a team spirit” is the only way to arrest wanted individuals and hand them over to the judiciary.

The agreement is based on constitutional articles and laws related to clean hands in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including Law No. 3 of 2011 of the Kurdistan Region and Law No. 30 of 2011 of Iraq, with the aim of harmonizing legal procedures.

The two clean hands institutions also appreciated the support of the three branches of government, namely the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive, at the federal and Kurdistan Regional Government levels.

The statement emphasized that the support of the Iraqi presidency and the Kurdistan Regional Government presidency provides the basis for these institutions to operate more independently and effectively.The new strategy will not be limited to arresting the accused, but will also focus on drying up their financial resources.

Erbil and Baghdad announced that efforts to “return stolen assets to the public treasury” will be increased, and ways to escape and hide the funds generated by corruption will be limited.

The two sides also agreed to develop human resources capabilities through joint training courses and workshops to strengthen a culture of transparency and accountability in government agencies.