Two Enforcement Officials Detained for Bribery, Embezzlement in Diyala

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi anti-corruption authorities detained two officials in Diyala Province on bribery and embezzlement charges, according to the Federal Anti-Corruption Commission. A joint task force from the Diyala investigation office caught the enforcement director of a district court and a file unit supervisor accepting a bribe from a citizen in exchange for renewing annual procedures for a vehicle under seizure, the commission said. Investigators found that the officials had previously embezzled funds paid by other citizens and failed to deposit the money into state treasury accounts. After the embezzlement, they destroyed the original enforcement file to cover their tracks. Evidence and an official report from the operation were submitted to a corruption investigation judge at the Baqubah Criminal Court. The judge ordered the defendants held pending trial under Article 307 of the Iraqi Penal Code. No further details were immediately available.