By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer Sameer N. Yacoub, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 26 mins ago
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s prime minister has accepted the resignation of the country’s trade minister, who agreed to step down following allegations of widespread corruption in his department, the government said Monday.
Trade Minister Falah al-Sudani submitted his resignation May 14, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delayed accepting it to allow parliament to review the allegations, a government statement said.
Those allegations include claims that the minister’s two brothers skimmed off tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks on food and other goods imported by the Trade Ministry.
One of his brothers, Sabah al-Sudani, was arrested this month allegedly trying to leave the country. The other brother, Majid al-Sudani, remains at large. Both were members of the minister’s security force.
Al-Maliki has promised a major crackdown against corruption, which opinion surveys have identified as one of the major public complaints against the government.
At least nine officials of the Trade Ministry — including the minister’s two brothers — have been charged with corruption. Last month, a gunfight broke out in the ministry when authorities went to serve the warrants.
Falah al-Sudani has not been charged but has been accused of tolerating widespread corruption and mismanagement in the ministry, which the head of parliament’s integrity commission described as “a remarkable source of corruption and squandering of public funds.”
The head of the integrity commission, Sabah al-Saedi, told The Associated Press that the minister’s resignation “is good news for the Iraqi people” because he “failed in carrying out his duties.”
“We think that the resignation is not enough and al-Sudani should be banned from traveling abroad,” al-Saedi said. “He should be subjected to an investigation for the breaches and financial embezzlement committed in the Trade Ministry.”
Security and corruption are emerging as the major issues ahead of next January’s national elections. Al-Maliki’s supporters scored major electoral successes in January’s provincial elections by promising to improve security and fight corruption.
Also Monday, fighting broke out when Iraqi security forces raided a suspected insurgent hide-out, killing at least two people, according to Iraq’s interior minister.
The raid comes after a series of high-profile attacks in Baghdad left 66 dead last week, raising questions about the abilities of Iraqi forces to provide security as U.S. combat troops leave Iraq’s cities in advance of a June 30 deadline.
The clashes began shortly after 3 a.m. when Iraqi forces raided a suspected hide-out in the mixed neighborhood of Ghadir, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told AP.
Al-Bolani said the clashes lasted for about four hours, ending with the deaths of a suspected Syrian insurgent and another unidentified man. He said two others had been arrested.
Three Iraqi police officers also were injured in the clashes, he added.
The raid targeted an insurgent group believed to be responsible for planting car bombs. Al-Bolani said security forces discovered a ready-made car bomb during the raid in Ghadir, once a predominantly Christian neighborhood.
By late morning, the operation expanded into house-to-house searches by Iraqi military forces, witnesses said.
An Associated Press reporter also witnessed soldiers and police officers searching cars for possible bombs at checkpoints leading in and out of the neighborhood.
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Associated Press Writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Hamid Ahmed contributed to this report
