The Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced on Saturday the recovery of more than $25 million in misappropriated state funds over a two-year period, alongside the launch of international legal proceedings across five nations to reclaim stolen properties and frozen bank accounts totaling more than $20 billion.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Al-Laibi confirmed that the state has secured several landmark victories in international courts, successfully overturning asset freezes and dismissing foreign claims through coordinated efforts with the Federal Integrity Commission under global anti-corruption treaties.

Resolution of High-Profile International Lawsuits

The ministry detailed several prominent international legal disputes that have been resolved in favor of the Iraqi state, neutralizing long-standing financial liabilities inherited from previous administrations.

Key judicial resolutions include:

• The United States: A U.S. federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Global Trade Creditors foundation, which sought to enforce a prior judgment against Iraq. The court ruled in Baghdad's favor on the grounds of sovereign immunity, a decision subsequently upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
• Jordan: Legal actions successfully overturned all asset freezes previously placed on Iraqi holdings in Jordanian banks. The freezes originated from a 2010 lawsuit demanding $53 million over historical barter contracts connected to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
• Lebanon: Iraqi authorities secured the execution of a domestic judicial formulation in Lebanese courts, enabling the recovery of more than $20.48 billion belonging to the Trade Bank of Iraq.

Targeted Asset Recovery Operations

In addition to large-scale corporate litigation, the Ministry of Justice has successfully repatriated millions of dollars from accounts in regional capital cities and targeted the assets of convicted fugitives.

During the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, the ministry successfully recovered $3 million in embezzled funds originally belonging to the Municipality of Baghdad (Amanat Baghdad). The capital had been frozen within the Lebanese banking system and has now been transferred to the official account of the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut.

Domestically, judicial authorities finalized rulings to recover more than 332 million dinars from the former director of the Securities Commission. Furthermore, executive procedures are currently underway in Jordan to seize $1.706 billion from a convicted Iraqi fugitive following a favorable ruling in Jordanian courts.

Complexities and Systemic Time Frames

Al-Laibi emphasized that reclaiming state wealth from foreign jurisdictions remains an intricate, long-term operational challenge. Due to the rigorous standards of providing legal proof and the structural differences between the Iraqi judiciary and foreign legal systems, individual asset recovery cases require between 2 to 7 years to achieve full resolution.

The Ministry of Justice reaffirmed that international legal enforcement actions will continue systematically until all identified overseas assets are returned to state control.