A spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister in Iraq said that the government referred the files of more than 5,000 officials to the Integrity Commission to investigate corruption cases, since the formation of the body in 2014.

  Hadithi said that 1,076 investigations have been completed and submitted to the judiciary, adding that 2,208 officials were summoned, with arrest warrants issued for 800 of them.

  Earlier this week, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the transfer of 15 senior officials, including three ministers and 12 general managers, to the Integrity Commission.

Commenting on the move, Hadithi said that Abadi’s move was “not the first and last ... The next few days will see a number of other officials referred to investigations.”

According to local observers, the major problem facing Abadi in the fight against corruption was that ordinary citizens “can no longer trust any action taken by the government.”

  “Everybody remembers 2015 when Abadi told the people that the war on corruption started and will not stop until its last fortress falls, but nothing has happened,” said Journalist Ali Hussein in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

  Writer and media figure Wathiq al-Jabri said he believed that Abadi “has been sending a series of political messages as part of his quest for a second term in the premiership.”

  Jabri ruled out that Abadi would succeed in making significant progress in corruption, which has been rooted in the country for more than 15 years, yet “throwing a stone in the waters of this stagnant file is better than nothing.”