Iraqi security forces arrested on Saturday former trade minister Abul Falah al-Sudani in Baghdad airport as he was trying to flee the country following a corruption scandal, an airport security source said.

Sudani was on his way to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but his plane was ordered to return to Baghdad airport according to an arrest warrant issued by the Iraqi judicial authorities, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Sudani is in the custody of the airport security after his plane, heading to UAE, was ordered to return," the source said.

Earlier in the day, Sabah al-Saedi, head of Iraq's integrity committee in the parliament told reporters that "an arrest warrant has been issued against former trade minister Falah al-Sudani."

"We have called Baghdad airport to contact the plane, heading to Dubai in UAE, and bring him back," Saedi said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said that Maliki accepted resignation of Sudani after being accused of corruption linked to food assistance program.

In May 2009, arrest warrants were issued by the Iraqi anti-corruption Integrity Commission on eight trade ministry officials, including two of al-Sudani's brothers.

Sudani was appointed as the minister of trade in May 2006 and previously served as education minister in the Iraqi transitional government.

He was born in Basra in 1947 and went into exile in Britain in the late 1970s. In 1981 received a doctorate in Biochemistry from the University of Wales. He is a member of the Islamic Dawa Party -Iraq Organization, a political group separated from Maliki's mainstream Dawa Party.

Source:Xinhua