Wasit and the Kut municipality: a governor dismissed, a council member and a municipal director sentenced, a forged guarantee in a sewer contract, and arrests over the Kut hypermarket fire (from 2011 to 2026)
In March 2011 the administrative court upheld the Wasit provincial council's dismissal of Governor Latif Hamad al-Turfa, whom the council accused of administrative and financial corruption. In November 2019 the council's head and members were summoned under Article 340, and a council member who headed its investment committee was sentenced to three years. In March 2021 the Wasit criminal court gave a former municipal director three years and ordered him to pay IQD 6.2 billion of damage. In August 2021 two people were detained over a forged IQD 1.3 billion bank guarantee in a IQD 26 billion sewer project in Kut. In 2023 the Integrity Commission found manipulation of regional development contract hiring in the governorate office. After the fire at the Kut hypermarket in July 2025, which killed and injured dozens, three Kut municipality officials and an earlier municipal director were arrested; the Commission said the building had no permit and broke safety rules. In June 2026 the Wasit integrity court asked Parliament, through the appeals court, to act against MP Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi, the former governor, over the fire. In July 2026 the new governor alleged that IQD 85 billion went to companies without Finance Ministry approval.
- Period
- From 2011 to July 2026
- Sector
- Local government and reconstructionProvincial government and municipalities (Wasit): council, sewerage, regional development hiring and building control
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Damage to municipal funds, a forged bank guarantee in a sewer contract, irregular hiring under regional development contracts, rents and penalties not collected, loans on fictitious inspections, and a commercial building put up without a permit or safety checks, according to the Integrity Commission and the courts.
What happened
Latif Hamad al-Turfa: dismissal upheld (March 2011). Council head and members: summoned (November 2019); a council member: three years (November 2019). Former municipal director: three years and IQD 6.2 billion (March 2021). Two people detained over the forged guarantee (August 2021). Nine arrest warrants in the Kut municipality and the housing fund (March 2024). Kut hypermarket fire: three officials and an earlier municipal director arrested (July 2025); the former governor referred to the courts by the Prime Minister (September 2025, as reported by Shafaq News) and Parliament asked to act (June 2026). Two committees of the Kut municipality held over engine oil purchases (April 2026). No verdict in the fire case is on record as of 19 October 2026.
Open questions
- Names of the sentenced council member and municipal director and of the people held over the forged guarantee.
- Whether Parliament lifted Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi's immunity over the fire, and how this case relates to his arrest in June 2026.
- Whether the Integrity Commission opened cases on the governor's 2026 claims about IQD 85 billion and a IQD 37 billion project.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former director of a municipality in Wasit (unnamed) مدير بلدية أسبق في محافظة واسط (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director of a municipality in Wasit (earlier) | Convicted (reported) | The Wasit criminal court sentenced him in person to three years' rigorous imprisonment under Article 340 and ordered him to pay IQD 6,200,000,000 of damage to public funds (Integrity Commission statement, 28 March 2021). Neither he nor the municipality is named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Member of the Wasit provincial council who headed its investment committee (unnamed) عضو مجلس محافظة واسط رئيس لجنة الاستثمار فيه (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Member of the Wasit provincial council; head of its investment committee | Convicted (reported) | On 2 December 2019 the Integrity Commission said the Kut integrity misdemeanour court had sentenced a council member who headed the investment committee to three years' rigorous imprisonment under Article 331. On 28 November 2019 the Supreme Judicial Council said the Kut misdemeanour court had sentenced a council member convicted of seeking a bribe to three years under Article 331; the statements do not say whether they concern the same person. Not named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Six employees of the Kut Municipality Directorate and three members of the inspection committee of the Wasit housing fund (unnamed) ستة موظفين في مديرية بلدية الكوت وثلاثة أعضاء في لجنة الكشف في صندوق الإسكان بواسط (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Employees of the Kut Municipality Directorate; members of the housing fund inspection committee | Charged or wanted | In March 2024 the Wasit integrity investigation judge issued arrest warrants for six Kut municipality employees, after the Integrity Commission found the municipality had not collected IQD 60,659,816 of rent and late penalties for the Ahlam tourist city or checked its equipment, and for three housing fund employees who granted two loans of IQD 138,000,000 on fictitious inspection reports (statement relayed by 964, 20 March 2024). Not named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Three officials of the Kut Municipality Directorate (unnamed) ثلاثة من مسؤولي مديرية بلدية الكوت (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Head of the encroachments section; former roads and bridges director serving as the municipality's technical assistant; head of the urban planning section | Arrested | Arrested in July 2025 on a warrant of the Wasit integrity investigation judge under Article 343(3) after the Kut hypermarket fire; the Integrity Commission said the centre was built without a permit, the municipality failed to follow it up, safety rules were broken and a transformer was installed without approval. One of the three was caught in Baghdad after trying to flee (statement relayed by 964, 19 July 2025). Not named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Earlier director of the Kut municipality (unnamed) مدير بلدية الكوت الأسبق (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director of the Kut Municipality Directorate (earlier) | Arrested | Arrested by the Integrity Commission's Wasit office in July 2025 over violations in the building of the Kut hypermarket (statement relayed by Alsumaria, 20 July 2025). Not named; no later step is on record. | 19 October 2026 |
| Two people detained over a forged bank guarantee in the Kut sewer contract (unnamed) متهمان أُوقفا بسبب خطاب ضمان مزور في عقد مجاري الكوت (لم يُذكر اسماهما) | Accused in the forged guarantee for the Kut sewer and storm-water project | Arrested | The Integrity Commission said in August 2021 that its Wasit team found in the governorate's contracts section a bank guarantee of IQD 1,300,000,000, said to come from a private bank that denied issuing it, submitted for a sewer and storm-water project in Kut worth IQD 25,994,490,000; the investigation judge detained two accused. Their roles and names are not given. | 19 October 2026 |
| Head and members of two committees of the Kut Municipality Directorate (unnamed) رئيس وأعضاء لجنتين في مديرية بلدية الكوت (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Members of purchasing and receiving committees, Kut Municipality Directorate | Arrested | The Integrity Commission said on 11 April 2026 that its Wasit team caught the head and members of two committees of the Kut municipality under Article 316, after finding that about 6,200 litres of engine oil were entered in the receiving records while only about 2,000 litres were bought, a shortfall of 4,176 litres. Not named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Latif Hamad al-Turfa لطيف حمد الطرفة | Governor of Wasit (dismissed in 2011) | Removed from office | The Wasit provincial council dismissed him on accusations of administrative and financial corruption, and the administrative court upheld the dismissal after rejecting his appeal, according to the council's media official (Alsumaria, 16 March 2011). No criminal charge is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi محمد جميل المياحي | Governor of Wasit (earlier); member of Parliament | Under investigation | A letter of the Integrity Commission's Wasit investigation directorate, reported by Shafaq News on 9 June 2026, says the Wasit integrity investigation court asked the presidency of the Wasit appeals court to approach Parliament so that legal action could be taken against him, as a sitting MP and former governor, under Article 343(3) of the Penal Code over the fire at the Kut hypermarket in July 2025. Shafaq News also reported that Prime Minister al-Sudani had in September 2025 referred the former governor, with other officials, to the courts on the findings of the inquiry into the fire. His arrest in June 2026 is in Green Zone anti-corruption raids: 47 officials arrested including 13 MPs and a deputy oil minister (from 28 to 29 June 2026). | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Alsumaria News16 March 2011Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
المحكمة الإدارية تصادق على إقالة محافظ واسط على خلفية اتهامات بالفساد
Original addressان المحكمة الإدارية صادقت على قرار مجلس المحافظة القاضي بإقالة المحافظ لطيف حمد الطرفة من منصبه بعد ردها الطعن الذي قدمه الطرفة بالقرار. وبيّن أن
- Alsumaria News19 November 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة: صدور أمر استقدام بحق رئيس وأعضاء مجلس محافظة واسط
Original address"أمر استقدام صدر بحق رئيس وأعضاء مجلس محافظة واسط وفق المادة 340 من قانون
- Alsumaria News (Supreme Judicial Council statement)28 November 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
جنح الكوت: الحبس ٣ سنوات لعضو مجلس محافظة أدين بالرشوة
Original addressاصدرت محكمة جنح الكوت، الخميس، حكما بالحبس الشديد لمدة ثلاث سنوات على أحد اعضاء مجلس محافظة واسط أدين
- Alsumaria News2 December 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة توضح تفاصيل الحكم الصادر بحق رئيس لجنة الاستثمار بمجلس محافظة واسط
Original addressكشفت هيئة النزاهة، الاثنين، عن صدور حكم بالحبس الشديد لمدة ثلاث سنوات على عضو مجلس محافظة واسط رئيس لجنة الاستثمار فيه.
- Alsumaria News28 March 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة: الحبس الشديد لمدير بلدية تسبب بضرر يفوق 6 مليارات دينار
Original addressاصدرت قراراً يقضي بالحبس الشديد لمدير بلديَّة أسبق مُدَّة ثلاثة سنواتٍ؛ استناداً إلى أحكام المادة (340) من قانون العقوبات، موضحةً أن القرار تضمَّن إلزام المُدان بدفع قيمة الضرر البالغة (6,200,000,000)
- Shafaq News18 August 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
ضبط "كتاب مزور" لمشروع مجاري في واسط ناهزت مبالغه 26 مليار دينار
Original addressضبط متهمين اثنين زوّرا "خطاب ضمان" لمشروع "مجاري ومياه ثقيلة" في محافظة واسط ناهزت ... بلغ (25,994,490,000) مليار دينار.
- 96420 May 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تكشف تلاعباً بتعيينات عقود تنمية الأقاليم في واسط
Original addressكشف حالات تلاعبٍ في أوامر تعيينات عقود تنمية الأقاليم من خلال التشابه في الأسماء، وتعيين أشخاصٍ دون السن القانونيَّة، والاستمرار
- 96420 March 2024Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
اعتقال 9 متهمين بهدر المال العام والتلاعب في بلدية الكوت وصندوق إسكان واسط
Original addressأصدر أمر قبضٍ بحقّ (6) من مُوظَّفي مُديريَّة بلديَّة الكوت؛ إثر رصد فريق عمل مكتب تحقيق واسط الذي انتقل إلى المُديريَّة عدم قيامها باستيفاء مبلغ بدل
- 96419 July 2025Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
اعتقال 3 مسؤولين في بلدية الكوت بتهم فساد وهدر تسبب بحريق الهايبر ماركت
Original addressتنفيذ أمر القبض القضائي الصادر بحقّ كل من مسؤول شعبة التجاوزات في بلديَّة الكوت، ومدير الطرق والجسور السابق الذي شغل منصب المعاون الفني في البلديَّة،
- Alsumaria News20 July 2025Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة: تنفيذ أمر قبض بحق مدير بلدية الكوت الأسبق على خلفية حادثة هايبر ماركت
Original addressتمكَّن من تنفيذ أمر القبض القضائيّ بحق مُدير بلديَّـة الكوت الأسبق؛ إثر المُخالفات المُرتكبة في إنشاء
- Shafaq News11 April 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
ضبط 5 موظفين في بلدية الكوت بتهمة اختلاس أموال عامة
Original addressضبط رئيس وأعضاء لجنتين في المديرية، لقيامهم باختلاس مبالغ مالية مخصصة لشراء مادة زيت
- Al-Mada29 April 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
غرق الكوت يطيح بمسؤولي المجاري وإحالة مشاريع متلكئة إلى هيئة النزاهة
Original addressأعلن محافظ واسط علي حسن سليمون إعفاء عدد من مسؤولي المجاري في المحافظة وتشكيل لجان تحقيقية بحق المقصرين، وإحالة المشاريع المتلكئة إلى
- Shafaq News9 June 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
"فاجعة الكوت" تُلاحق المياحي.. النزاهة تتحرك ضد محافظ واسط الأسبق
Original addressفاتحت رئاسة محكمة استئناف واسط لغرض مفاتحة مجلس النواب العراقي ونائبيه بغية اتخاذ الإجراءات القانونية بحق المشكو منه النائب الحالي (محمد جميل المياحي) والمحافظ الأسبق لمحافظة واسط وفق أحكام المادة
- 964 (English)19 July 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
Wasit governor alleges predecessors diverted billions from development
Original addressHe also said audit committees had flagged a legal violation involving 85 billion dinars (about $64.4 million) allocated to specific companies without Finance Ministry approval, a case since referred to