BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities have issued arrest warrants for the longtime governor of the central bank following allegations of financial wrongdoing, the country’s judiciary said Thursday.

Allegations against Sinan al-Shabibi, who has led the bank since 2003, surfaced earlier this week while he was out of the country on official business. The charges are seen by the government’s critics as an attempt to sideline the politically independent economist, and have been blasted as politically motivated by al-Shabibi’s defense team.