Two Diyala Officials Arrested on Bribery, Embezzlement Charges

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A court in Baghdad ordered the arrest of two public officials from Diyala province on charges of bribery and embezzlement, according to a statement from Iraq's Federal Anti-Corruption Authority. The authority said its Diyala investigation team set up a sting operation after receiving a complaint from a citizen. The officials, identified as the director of an execution directorate and a responsible officer from a file division, were caught accepting money in exchange for renewing the annual registration of a vehicle that had been seized as part of an execution file. Investigators determined the two suspects had previously embezzled funds paid by citizens, keeping the money rather than depositing it as state revenue. After seizing the payments, they destroyed the original execution file, the authority said. An official report was filed, and the suspects along with seized evidence were referred to an investigative judge at the Baghdad Criminal Court in the Karkh district. The judge ordered their pre-trial detention under Article 307 of the Iraqi Penal Code.