Iraqi anti-corruption body arrests Diwaniyah municipal employee over bribery

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity said a municipal employee in Diwaniyah was caught red-handed accepting a bribe, according to a statement released Thursday. The employee, who worked in the real estate department of a local municipality, had demanded money from a citizen in exchange for advancing the sale of a state-owned plot of land. After completing its investigation and obtaining a judicial order, the commission's teams detained the employee while he was receiving the bribe payment. A legal record was prepared, and the suspect, along with the evidence, was handed over to the Diwaniyah Investigation Court, which handles corruption cases. The court judge ordered the suspect detained pending investigation under Article 160 of 1983, as amended. The commission said the case falls under Article 25 of the law governing the sale and lease of state property. No further details were immediately available.