Robert Pether had been working as a mechanical engineer on rebuilding the Iraqi Central Bank when he was arrested along with a colleague from CME Consulting, the Dubai-based company they were working for.

Mr Pether, who is an Australian citizen, has been in prison in Iraq since April 2021, after he was arrested on fraud charges following a contractual dispute involving his employer that arose out of the building of a new Central Bank building in Baghdad in Iraq.

The Australian national remains there for the moment as he is under a travel ban and cannot return home, it is understood.

Robert Pether, an Australian national who had been living in Elphin with his family, was arrested in Baghdad in April 2021 and later jailed on fraud charges