Corruption is a system, not just individuals, and the big fish are too big to be caught by chance.
Corruption is a system, not just individuals, and the big fish are too big to be caught by chance.
2026-06-25 02:32
Ali Qasim Al-Kaabi
Every day, the media and social media platforms are rife with news of corruption, to the point that this shameful word has become commonplace, no longer eliciting the shock or surprise it once did. We have grown accustomed to hearing it hundreds, even thousands of times, in conversations at cafes, in government offices, in mosques, and even within homes and among family members. Thus, corruption has transformed from a phenomenon that demanded attention and accountability for its perpetrators into a normal part of daily life. Indeed, some corrupt individuals are now presented as influential and beloved figures worthy of close association.
A few days ago, the new Minister of Communications, Mustafa Sanad, appeared in a press conference that sparked considerable controversy, discussing the arrest of former Deputy Minister of Oil, Adnan al-Jumaili. He described al-Jumaili as an “oil whale,” noting that he had served as Deputy Minister of Oil for Refining Affairs and was a major financier of political parties. Sanad further explained that al-Jumaili enjoyed extensive influence and strong connections with influential figures in both the executive and legislative branches, and that his activities were widely known. Ironically, al-Jumaili’s financial corruption case coincided with a scandalous affair involving the Director General of the Oil Projects Company, Engineer Ayad al-Jawhar, and the Director of the Finance Department at the Northern Projects Authority in Kirkuk, Lina Raad Mohsen. A sexually explicit video was leaked, and despite the department’s denial, the government launched an investigation. Returning to al-Jumaili’s case, a legitimate question arises: if the nature of this individual’s influence and the extent of his power were known to everyone, why was his case opened now? And why wasn’t he held accountable earlier? Such questions open the door to doubts about the nature of political conflicts and the motives behind raising certain issues at specific times while ignoring others. And in the world of politics, not everything that is known can be said.
Corruption is not an isolated incident that can be eradicated simply by arresting a suspect or convicting an official; rather, it is an integrated system deeply rooted in the structure of the administrative and political system. All major acts of corruption were not random occurrences, but rather were carried out according to organized mechanisms and interconnected networks of vested interests.
We have heard much about the buying and selling of positions after every election, and about the distribution of power among political forces according to the principle of quotas. If an official reached his position through political or financial deals, it is only natural that he would seek to recoup what he paid and achieve further gains, surrounding himself with a network of beneficiaries whose survival depends on his own.
The sectarian and ethnic division of government positions represents one of the biggest gateways to corruption, because in this case, loyalty is to the party or political bloc before it is to the state and its institutions. Therefore, any government that imposes quotas in the selection of its officials will be a repeat of past experiences whose failure and corruption have been exposed over time.
It would have been more appropriate to grant the executive branch complete freedom in selecting its ministerial team based on competence and the announced government program, free from partisan pressures and conditions. Such conditions not only derail reform projects but also contribute to legitimizing corruption and weakening state institutions.
Today, more than two decades later, upon reviewing the enormous budgets that have been spent, we find that the services and development delivered to citizens are completely disproportionate to the amount of money that has entered the state treasury. The health, education, and basic services sectors continue to suffer from chronic crises, while millions of citizens live in difficult economic and social conditions.
In contrast, the political class enjoys high levels of luxury and extravagance, as if state funds and resources were created to serve their own interests. Over time, many in power have become indifferent to the demands and daily suffering of the people, even though it is the people who ultimately pay the price for corruption, mismanagement, and the accumulation of crises.
Combating corruption begins not only with prosecuting individuals, but also with reforming the system that produces, protects, and perpetuates it. As long as political patronage remains the ruling principle, corruption will continue to resurface under new names and with different faces, while the citizen remains the biggest loser.
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