Iraq issues arrest warrant for ex-trade minister

The Iraqi government issued an arrest warrant Saturday for the former trade minister who resigned this month amid allegations of widespread corruption in his department, a leading lawmaker said.

The warrant for Falah al-Sudani comes as Iraq's government has been cracking down on government corruption, having issued hundreds of arrest warrants since the beginning of the year against officials _ including 51 in high-level positions.

The warrant was issued by the Iraqi judiciary, said Sabah al-Saedi, the chairman of the parliamentary integrity committee. Al-Sudani's whereabouts are not immediately known but he was seen Saturday by reporters at Baghdad airport.

Al-Sudani, a member of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party, resigned shortly after appearing before parliament earlier this month to answer allegations of corruption.

Al-Saedi has alleged that the minister's two brothers have skimmed millions of dollars in kickbacks on imports. One of them is in custody after attempting to flee the country and the other is at large.

The case became a national spectacle after a video surfaced on YouTube purportedly showing al-Sudani's two brothers partying and drinking.

The news of the arrest warrant also comes after al-Maliki said earlier this week that he would not defend any official in his party accused of corruption.

He also said he would refer all allegations to the judiciary for investigation. The statements came during an online question-and-answer session on Iraq's official government media Web site.

Dozens of Iraqi political leaders have been accused in the past of high-level corruption and links to violent groups _ some fleeing the country to neighboring Jordan and Syria or staying home and managing to keep the suspicions from turning into formal charges

In February, Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Dayni after being accused of an insurgent ringleader tried to flee the country on a flight to Amman, only to have the plane turned back.

He slipped through Iraqi custody, though, after arriving in Baghdad and disappeared. He is believed to be in Syria where he recently appeared on a cooking show.