Baghdad: The Federal Integrity Commission announced its success in executing the arrest warrant issued against six employees of the Samawah Municipality Directorate in Muthanna Governorate for embezzling 36 billion dinars.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the operation, carried out pursuant to a judicial warrant, involved a team from the Muthanna Investigation Office in cooperation with a law enforcement force in the governorate. This operation led to the execution of the judicial arrest warrant against six employees of the Samawah Municipality in accordance with the provisions of Article 315 of the Penal Code. The arrest was due to their illegal disbursement and embezzlement of sums amounting to 35,834,183,810 dinars, as reported by the Federal Board of Supreme Audit – Seventh Region Audit Department.

The Commission further explained that the defendants, including the Accounts Director and the officials of the Audit and Archives Division at the municipality, manipulated the disbursement of receipts for the collection of revenues and expenditures for the period from 2020 to 2023. They embezzled the financial amounts generated from those receipts without returning them to the state, violating the law.

Additionally, the Commission reported that a formal seizure report was prepared and presented, along with the defendants and the seized criminal evidence, to the judge of the Muthanna Investigative Court specializing in integrity cases. Based on the provisions of Article 315 of the Penal Code, the judge decided to detain the accused individuals.