Rakan al-Jibori, the former acting governor of Kirkuk, has been detained in Baghdad following an initial court session at the Rusafa Criminal Court, with further hearings pending. His detention stems from five corruption cases brought against him, including allegations of embezzling public funds and permitting Turkish humanitarian aid distribution in Kirkuk without authorization from Baghdad.

Context: The allegations involve serious financial and administrative misconduct. Investigations have reportedly uncovered 21 properties now registered under al-Jibori’s name, and the disappearance of two separate 500-million-dinar funds (totaling one billion dinars) earmarked for projects in Kirkuk. One report indicates that these two cases were central to his court appearance, and the presiding judge ordered his continued detention until hearings conclude.

PUK MP Dilan Ghafour stated to her party’s media that the detention is linked to both the corruption cases and al-Jibori’s unauthorized facilitation of Turkish aid distribution in Kirkuk. She added that the Iraqi Integrity Commission ordered his arrest following complaints filed by the PUK bloc in parliament. Additional charges include the disappearance of nine vehicles belonging to the now-defunct Kirkuk Provincial Council, according to a formal complaint by the head of the governorate’s advisory council.

Analysis: Rakan al-Jibori is the most prominent and popular Arab figure in Kirkuk and belongs to the influential al-Jibour tribe. He served as deputy governor in Kirkuk under Kurdish governor Najmaldin Karim until October 2017, when the Kurdistan independence referendum took place. Subsequently, he was appointed acting governor until August 2024, following the December 2023 elections when a new governor for Kirkuk, a Kurd from the PUK named Rebwar Tawa, was elected through a controversial vote by the Kirkuk Provincial Council.

What makes this detention particularly noteworthy are two interconnected factors:

1. The PUK claims al-Jibori has been arrested at their request. The PUK is al-Jibori’s political rival, as each side attempted to build a majority to form the local government in Kirkuk. The PUK won five seats and helped elect the quota Christian seat in cooperation with pro-Iran Christian militia leader Rayan al-Kildani, who leads the Babylon Movement, out of a total of 16 seats. Al-Jibori’s Arab Alliance was one of three Sunni Arab factions that won seats in Kirkuk’s Provincial Council, securing 3 of the 6 Arab seats, with al-Jibori himself receiving the highest number of Arab votes in the province. After the elections, regional powers Turkey and Iran each sought to influence local government formation. Turkey actively worked to prevent the PUK from joining the local government, repeatedly accusing the PUK of maintaining deep ties with the PKK in both political and security spheres. In this context, al-Jibori—who in Iraq’s national politics is closely aligned with Khamis al-Khanjar, a Sunni Arab leader known for his close ties to Turkey and Qatar as well as to the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Masoud Barzani—became a pivotal figure.

These leaders, joined by the Turkmen Front (which naturally gravitates toward the Barzani-Khanjar bloc due to its close ties with Turkey), attempted to forge a majority to form the local government without the PUK. Given that the KDP holds two seats, the Turkmen Front two seats, and Arabs a total of six seats, they theoretically could form a local government. However, the Arab members are split into two three-seat blocs, mirroring the division in national Iraqi Sunni politics between those aligned with Khamis Khanjar and those supporting the other Sunni powerbroker, Muhammad al-Halbusi, a maverick politician with close ties to the UAE. Beyond local rivalry, one factor that prompted al-Halbusi to pivot toward a last-minute deal with the PUK was that, following his ousting as Iraq’s parliament speaker due to widening gaps with Iran, he sought to repair relations with Iran and accommodate its broader preferences in Iraq. Both al-Halbusi and the PUK operate as strategic actors, leveraging relations with Iran while maintaining close ties with the US.

2. There is a growing anti-Turkish campaign led by pro-Iran Iraqi Shia leaders such as Qais al-Khazali, who have recently accused Turkey of attempting to infiltrate both Mosul and Kirkuk through various methods. These include recruiting and training armed groups in preparation for eventually taking indirect control over all of Northern Iraq, following what they describe as Turkey’s takeover in Syria after the weakening of the Assad regime—a close ally of Iran whose government Shia militias helped sustain as part of the Iranian regional strategy for over a decade. Therefore, detaining a prominent Kirkuk figure partly for accepting aid from Turkey is significant and clearly politically motivated, especially considering that al-Jibori recently met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara. Given the strong political element to the detention, it remains to be seen whether this will lead to his formal arrest or whether political pressure will secure his release.