Plane carrying resigned trade minister returned to Iraq

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A plane carrying the resigned minister of trade has been returned to Iraq less than one and a half hours after taking off from Baghdad International Airport, according to an airport official. “The plane was on its way to the United Arab Emirates. Security authorities may execute an arrest warrant against Minister Abdulfalah al-Sudani as soon as he steps off the plane,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IraqiNews.com news agency. Earlier today, the chairman of the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity (CPI), Sabah al-Saedi, said in a Baghdad-based press conference that a Samawa court had issued an arrest warrant for the Iraqi minister of trade. He added that Sudani was at the airport, planning to fly to Dubai. “The commission had contacted the airport and demanded the plane to be returned if it has taken off,” Saedi noted. The commission’s head explained that Sudani has a dual nationality of British and Iraqi, arguing that if he managed to leave the country and destroy his Iraqi identity, the commission will not be able to return him in order to hold him accountable for his actions. A few days ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accepted Sudani’s resignation, which was tendered on May 14. Sudani was questioned by the Parliament for two days on charges of “administrative and financial corruption.” SS (S) 1