ISTANBUL / Laith Al-Junaidi / Anadolu Agency

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced on Monday the recovery of 375 kilograms of gold in two corruption cases, and the seizure of real estate, factories and trucks worth tens of millions of dollars in the case of a detained oil official.

The Judicial Media said in a statement that the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Investigation Court, in coordination with the Kurdistan Region and under the supervision of the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Faiq Zidan, recovered 358 kilograms of gold in the case of the suspended Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs, Adnan Al-Jumaili.

It added that authorities seized 17 kilograms of gold in another investigation case, raising the total amount confiscated on Monday to 375 kilograms.

It explained that the recovered quantities were handed over to the Issuance and Treasury Department of the Central Bank of Iraq.

In a separate statement, the Judicial Media announced that the Nineveh Investigation Court specialized in integrity cases decided to seize 9 commercial properties and 3 flour production factories in the city of Mosul, as part of the investigations in the Al-Jumaili case.

According to the statement, the total value of the properties and factories is about 69 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $52.6 million), in addition to 7 modern trucks, each estimated at $200,000.

It explained that the market value of the commercial properties in central Mosul is about 45 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $34.3 million), while the flour factories are valued at 24 billion dinars (about $18.3 million).

The Judicial Media mentioned that fugitive defendants registered the properties under the names of their workers in order to disguise and conceal their illegal source.

The court decided to appoint judicial custodians to manage the seized properties and factories, as they are productive assets generating revenues, to ensure their preservation and collect profits in favor of the state.

The Supreme Judicial Council affirmed the continued pursuit of fugitive defendants and the recovery of movable and immovable assets obtained from corruption crimes, and the accountability of those involved according to the law.

These measures come within the investigations into Al-Jumaili, who was dismissed from his post on June 2, on suspicion of wasting public funds, concluding illegal contracts, and money laundering.

The Iraqi judiciary had announced over the past days the arrest of dozens of suspects in financial and administrative corruption cases related to the file, including deputies and executive officials whose immunity was lifted to complete the investigations.