ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Integrity Commission of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has said it will soon call on cabinet ministers to reveal the source of their wealth in an attempt to boost transparency, public accountability, and prevent corruption.

“All cabinet ministers have now assumed office and we have prepared forms for them to reveal their riches. We will send them the forms this week,” Ahmad Anwar, head of the commission, told Rudaw.

MPs are obliged to provide a detailed explanation for how they acquired their estates – including properties, savings, and bank accounts in the Kurdistan Region or abroad.

Nobody is exempt, including the Kurdistan Region’s president and his deputies, the prime minister and his deputies, cabinet ministers, lawmakers, the speaker of the parliament, mayors, military officers, and other top public officials.

In cases where public officials are found to have made illegal financial gains, they will be referred to the public prosecutor’s office for investigation.

“The Integrity Commission screened the resumes of the nominations for the new cabinet one day before the cabinet was sworn in. The candidates had no problems,” Anwar said.

The Integrity Commission bans anyone found to be involved in criminal activities from taking public office.

The Commission has urged the new government to form a supreme council to confront corruption.

“The Kurdistan Region needs to make grass-root reforms, especially in the public sector, more than ever. That is why the new cabinet should form a council similar to the one Baghdad has to confront corruption. It should have detailed plans to undertake sweeping reforms,” Ahmad said.

Corruption and poor governance is one of the biggest challenges the Kurdistan Region faces. High-level officials within the ruling Kurdish parties acknowledge the serious lack of transparency in revenues and expenditure.

“Levels of corruption in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, while lower than in Iraq as a whole, are relatively high compared to other countries in the region,” according to Transparency International.

The KRG Integrity Commission has submitted 198 corruption cases to courts in the past year alone – just 33 of which have concluded – 16 in Duhok, 15 in Erbil, and two in Sulaimani.

The Commission estimates nearly 298.5 billion dinars ($250 million) is wrapped up in corruption cases. They have so far recuperated almost 5.4 billion dinars ($4.5 million), mostly in Sulaimani province.

Transparency International ranks Iraq among the most corrupt nations in the world, drastically undermining public faith in government and institutions.

With reporting by Shikar Ahmad

Rudaw