Iraq leader vows to end corruption amid scandal
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has launched a campaign to arrest almost 1,000 officials for corruption, the government said on Wednesday, after the trade minister resigned amid claims family members made millions in kickbacks from sugar purchases.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a visit to the rudderless Trade Ministry his office would take control of the ministry's functions and a committee would take over Iraq's massive grains and foodstuffs purchasing programme.
"We will not keep silent about corruption after this day and we will chase all the corrupt and bring them before the judiciary," Maliki said in a statement.
Rahim al-Ugaili, who heads the Iraqi integrity commission, said it had issued 387 arrest warrants in April alone, including for 51 officials who ranked as department heads.
The commission still had 997 arrest warrants it had not enacted, he said, and Maliki had instructed the security forces on Sunday to launch a campaign to arrest all of those.
Endemic graft is seen as a significant threat to Iraq's progress and stability as it begins to emerge from the years of bloodshed unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Officials estimate billions of dollars are embezzled or paid in bribes for government contracts, hurting Iraq's ability to rebuild its shattered economy and infrastructure at a time when low oil prices are cutting into state revenues.
The Trade Ministry scandal has embarrassed Maliki as he prepares to contest a parliamentary election early next year.
Maliki on Sunday accepted the resignation of Trade Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudany over corruption allegations that involved two of his brothers and a nephew among nine officials. One brother has been arrested and the other is at large.
The ministry buys hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year of sugar, lentils, grains and other food and basic household goods to supply a national ration programme.
Once the heart of the ancient world's fertile crescent, drought and underinvestment in farming have turned Iraq into a top rice and wheat importer.
Sudany himself has not been charged. The ministry has denied the graft accusations.
Maliki said Iraq's purchases of foodstuffs would now take place through a committee formed of officials from his office, the cabinet secretariat, the corruption watchdog and the audit department.
"It will buy foodstuffs in a swift and proper manner and sign agreements with the world's big companies to buy essential foodstuffs without the use of intermediaries," he said.
(Additional reporting by Wathiq Ibrahim; Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Sophie Hares)