“The War of Leaks” Confuses the Political Scene... Blackmail or Expose of Corruption?

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[size=52]“The War of Leaks” Confuses the Political Scene... Blackmail or Expose of Corruption?[/size]

[size=45]Audio leaks have dominated the scene in Iraq, further complicating the political equation less than a year before the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2025, in addition to harming the reputation of the Iraqi state in general.
Opinions on the audio leaks file in Iraq varied between revealing the facts related to corruption, the leadership of the deep state, and the management of weapons, and between political pressure, personal slander, and blackmail.
Investigation into the leaks
The Integrity Commission began investigating an audio recording attributed to the head of the advisory board in the Prime Minister’s office regarding receiving bribes in exchange for granting an investment opportunity.
The commission explained that the investigation came under the direction of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and in cooperation and coordination with the judge of the Central Criminal Court for Combating Corruption.
The Iraqi media and social media platforms circulated an audio leak of the Prime Minister’s senior advisor, Abdul Karim al-Faisal, talking about his request for a bribe during a voice call and complaining about receiving only one million dollars, but al-Faisal denied the accusations and said that it was a “fabricated audio clip.”
In the recording attributed to him, whose authenticity has not been verified, a person expresses his displeasure at receiving only one million dollars compared to the millions given to a minister, and also promises in the recording that he will present an investment opportunity to the prime minister.
This is the third recording to appear in the past few days related to senior officials, most notably the former head of the Integrity Commission, who was dismissed from his position last month, and the head of the Tax Authority, who was suspended from work for 60 days and arrested pending investigation, according to an official in the Integrity Commission.
In late October, the authorities opened an investigation into the information contained in the leaked audio recording attributed to the Director General of the General Tax Authority, Ali Allawi, according to an official statement. Ali
Allawi’s audio recording suggests that he is manipulating tax funds in exchange for reducing the tax rate on a businessman’s projects.
The former head of the Integrity Commission was also dismissed from his position at the end of October after an investigation was conducted into audio recordings attributed to him that included bribery crimes, but despite his dismissal, he obtained the position of advisor in the Ministry of Justice.
Activists on social media and Iraqi media outlets circulated an audio recording attributed to politician Khamis al-Khanjar, in which he complains to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani about procedures in the Sunni Endowments Department, including the sale of some properties, according to the recording.
Maliki leaks
This is not the first time that such leaks have been published, as the Iraqi arena has witnessed several leaks in recent years, most notably those attributed to former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as the recordings included harsh criticism of his political opponents, especially the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, and warnings of the possibility of internal fighting between Shiite forces, which sparked a wave of tension and differences between political forces.
However, what sparked criticism from many Iraqis is that these leaks did not end with holding Maliki accountable, which reinforced doubts about the ability of the judiciary to hold accountable those involved in corruption files, threats, or creating chaos due to their political influence.
Leaks on the way
At the same time, the spokesman for the Victory Coalition led by Haider al-Abadi revealed the goals of revealing some audio leaks of some political and governmental figures.
The spokesman for the coalition, Aqil al-Rudaini, said, “What is happening now is actually a war. There is a ‘war of leaks’ for some political and governmental figures, and the issue is currently being backed by internal parties, and the goal is to bring down a politician in advance of the upcoming elections, as well as a political blackmail card for political issues about gains and others.”
Al-Rudaini added that “the war of leaks includes external work and interference by some intelligence agencies and others, and perhaps the leaks behind which there is an external agenda that will be used during the next stage, and they are more dangerous than the current leaks, and are used against the government and the political process in Iraq, especially since Iraq is heavily and dangerously infiltrated,” according to his expression.
What are the most prominent risks of the leaks?
Researcher and academic Ghaleb al-Dumaidi did not rule out the existence of new audio leaks that will be revealed later, considering that Iraq has actually entered the era of leaks.
Al-Dumai said, “Unfortunately, Iraq has entered the era of audio recordings, and the biggest problem is that some people do not realize the seriousness of these leaks, apart from their criminal danger.”
He added, “The most prominent danger of these leaks, regardless of their veracity or otherwise, which is left to the Iraqi judiciary, is their damage to the reputation of the state and its institutions on the one hand, and the lack of trust between the Iraqi street, the political class, and the Iraqi government on the other hand.”
He continued, “These audio recordings and leaks are likely to lead to a loss of confidence in the Integrity Commission, the government, and all state institutions, especially since Iraqi public opinion believes that the political class is involved in corruption,” stressing that “if the citizen trusted the political class and the government, he would not have dealt with these leaks.”
Why is there no interaction with the leaks file?
Legal experts confirm that audio leaks must be subject to judicial investigation away from political pressures, especially since the topics included in some of the leaks affect the security of the state and the fate of its funds.
Legal expert Dawood Al-Akidi says that “audio leaks that include confessions to criminal acts, corruption cases, and state security files expose those involved to legal accountability,” indicating that “these leaks are considered legal evidence that requires investigation, whether the speaker is the perpetrator or a party mentioned during the leak.”
Al-Akidi pointed out that “the leaks in Iraq may be fabricated for the purpose of personal targeting and perhaps political and financial blackmail, and he pointed out that some of them may be real, and the latter must be followed up judicially and those involved in committing any crime must be held accountable.”
He explained that “Iraq has not witnessed any interaction with this file for two reasons: the first is the absence of an effective role for the Public Prosecution in following up on these cases, and the second is due to the great political pressures exerted by some parties to turn the page on these leaks.”
Despite the corruption that has infiltrated all state institutions and public administrations in Iraq, sanctions often target the middle levels in the state or simple managers, and rarely target the top of the pyramid and the most corrupt.
True leaks
. Those involved and accused of audio leaks often deny the authenticity of these leaks, considering them attempts to tarnish their reputation and influence their political positions.
Despite the controversy surrounding their authenticity, these leaks underscore the ongoing challenges facing Iraqi institutions in promoting transparency and combating corruption.
The Technology for Peace team, the most prominent Iraqi technical team, confirmed the authenticity of the recordings attributed to Maliki, and said that they were not fabricated.
Muammal al-Jubouri, head of the Iraq Digital Network in Iraq, confirms that “there is a great digital ignorance among the majority of the political class in Iraq, which is evident in the mutual accusations between them regarding spying and eavesdropping methods, some of which were Hollywood-like accusations that were not based on any technical basis and were not supported by specialists in the technical field.”
He adds: “The lack of knowledge of technical details is also evident when trying to deny the recording as a forgery using deep fake and artificial intelligence techniques, which has been proven wrong more than once after judicial investigations proved the authenticity of some audio recordings that were leaked of prominent figures.”[/size]
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