Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has stressed that the government was determined to continue fighting corruption to recover public funds. In remarks published Monday following a cabinet session held on Sunday night, al-Zaidi said that “the recent offensive against corruption is just a first phase, and the government will continue to combat corruption to recover public funds.” The government “is tasked with protecting the interests of the Iraqi people, and there will be no leniency,” said al-Zaidi. He added that “the situation can no longer be tolerated, and our concern for the welfare of Iraqis compels us to assure our people that there are strong guardians of public funds.” Iraq “has endured eras of wars, chaos, and combating terrorism. Today, the government's path is different by ... not allowing the corrupt to be part of the state's apparatus with the aim of stealing public funds.” Dozens of Iraqi political officials have been arrested on corruption charges, Iraq’s state-run Iraqi News Agency reported Sunday. It said the arrests were based on a statement made by former Deputy Minister of Oil Adnan al-Jumaili, who was arrested last month, and “included members of Parliament whose immunity had been lifted.”
