Former Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi: arrest warrants and sentences in absentia (from 2018 to 2022)
In April 2018 the Integrity Commission announced a new arrest warrant from the Nineveh integrity investigation court against former Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi, in a case over wages paid beyond his powers; the same report said a Rusafa misdemeanour court had sentenced him in absentia to three years for abuse of office (Penal Code art. 329). On 9 April 2022 the Commission announced that the Nineveh Criminal Court had convicted him in absentia and sentenced him to seven years (art. 340) for spending on the al-Hashd al-Watani camps at Zelikan, Dobordan, Makhmour and Rabia against the rules, exceeding his financial powers outside the budget lines and overpricing, which wasted IQD 2.76bn of public money. Nineveh province kept the right to claim damages.
- Period
- From March 2018 to April 2022
- Sector
- Local government and reconstructionProvincial spending outside the rules
- Kind of case
- Court rulings in absentia and arrest warrants
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Spending outside the budget rules on volunteer-force camps; overpricing; wages paid beyond his powers; abuse of office.
What happened
Two sentences in absentia (3 years, art. 329, before April 2018; 7 years, art. 340, April 2022); arrest warrants (2018).
Open questions
- Whether the sentences were enforced, appealed or covered by the amnesty laws; the date of the art. 329 sentence.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atheel al-Nujaifi أثيل عبد العزيز محمد النجيفي | Former governor of Nineveh | Convicted (reported) | Sentenced in absentia by the Nineveh Criminal Court to 7 years (Penal Code art. 340) for spending on the al-Hashd al-Watani camps (Zelikan, Dobordan, Makhmour, Rabia) against the rules, exceeding his financial powers outside the budget lines and overpricing, which wasted IQD 2.76bn (Integrity Commission statement, 9 April 2022). Earlier, an arrest warrant from the Nineveh integrity investigation court over wages paid beyond his powers (announced 10 April 2018), and, according to the same report, a 3-year sentence in absentia from a Rusafa misdemeanour court for abuse of office (art. 329). | 30 September 2026 |
Sources
- Alsumaria (Federal Integrity Commission statement)10 April 2018Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تعلن صدور امر قبض جديد بحق اثيل النجيفي
Originalمحكمة تحقيق نينوى المُختصَّة بالنظر في قضايا النزاهة أصدرت أمر قبضٍ بحقِّ المُتَّهم أثيل عبد العزيز محمد النجيفيِّ في القضيَّة المُرقَّـمة 192/ ق 2016/12 الخاصَّة بصرف أجور خارج الصلاحيَّات الوظيفيَّة
- Kurdistan24 (Federal Integrity Commission statement)9 April 2022Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
محكمة عراقية تحكم بسجن أثيل النجيفي 7 سنوات بتهمة "هدر المال العام"
Originalمحكمة جنايات نينوى، الهيئة الأولى أصدرت قرارها بإدانة محافظ نينوى الأسبق؛ لقيامه بصرف مبالغ مالية على معسكرات الحشد الوطني (زليكان، دوبردان، مخمور، ربيعة) خلافا للضوابط والتعليمات