Iraqi official arrested in Salahaddin with 25 billion dinars, gold seized

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Adnan Hammad Mahmoud al-Jumaili, an Iraqi Oil Ministry deputy minister for liquidation affairs and head of the Northern Petroleum Company, was detained in an operation carried out by a special security unit under the Interior Ministry in the city of Salahaddin, according to Iraq's Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court. The court said searches of al-Jumaili's homes and of several individuals yielded 25 billion Iraqi dinars, $200,000 and a significant quantity of gold jewelry. Investigators found part of the cash on the people searched, while the remainder was concealed inside the walls of several houses, according to the statement. Judicial sources said the case is being expanded, based on al-Jumaili's confessions, to include certain members of parliament and politicians. The Iraqi judiciary also issued a public warning, saying fraudsters had been contacting businesspeople and demanding money under the pretext of the ongoing investigation, and urged vigilance against such attempts. No further details on the case or the individuals named in the expansion were immediately available.