Iraq's former trade minister Abdel Falah al-Sudani was arrested on Saturday when trying to flee the country in the wake of a graft scandal after his plane was dramatically ordered back to Baghdad. The minister was on board a flight to Dubai, which authorities turned back to the capital so that he could be arrested, said Sabah al-Saedi, head of the Iraqi parliament's corruption and integrity commission.
"The (former) minister was trying to escape from justice and was headed to the UAE," said Saedi. "After some phone calls were made to judicial authorities and the airport, the airplane was turned back and the minister arrested," he added.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office on Monday announced that Sudani had resigned amid allegations of corruption and embezzlement linked to the nation's food assistance programme.
"An arrest warrant was issued against the minister under the charge of corruption," said Saedi. "He is the main person responsible for corruption in the ministry." A security official told AFP that Sudani was on flight PHW604 operated by Jupiter Airlines in Iraqi airspace over the southern city of Basra when the drama unfolded.
"At 1pm the minister took the plane going to Dubai but representatives from the commission arrived at the airport with police shortly after," said the official on condition of anonymity. "They contacted the plane and forced it to turn back. When it landed security personnel arrested the minister." The security official said the former minister was being held at the airport after asking for a copy of his arrest warrant but would soon be taken into formal custody by the commission.
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