Lawmaker uncovers evidence that ties oil minister to +800bn dollars of wasted public funds

Shafaq News/ A member of Iraq's legislative body uncovered evidence that ties the country's oil minister to a new financial corruption scandal.

The rapporteur of the Communication and Transportation Committee in the Iraqi parliament, Zahra al-Bajjari, accused the discharged acting finance minister, incumbent oil minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, of championing a scandal that is both "heavier and louder" than the 3.7 trillion dinars (2.5 billion dollars) embezzlement scheme.

Citing an audit into contracts the oil ministry concluded under the current administration; lawmaker al-Bajjari said that Ismail reduced the share of the government partner (state-owned oil marketer, SOMO) to 6% from 25%, "which means that Iraq lost 19% of its share."

"Following the amendments [approved by Ismail], the term of the contract was extended from 20 to 25 years," she said in an official statement.

"Moreover, the amendment reduced the resting production rate from 2.85 million years barrels a day to a weighted average of 2.1 million barrels a day; i.e., Iraq loses 750 thousand barrels on a daily basis," she added.

"These amendments have cost Iraq losses estimated at 825,520,500,000 dollars," she continued, "it requires international financial firms to precisely estimate the losses."

"The financial conduct report confirms that all the amendments favor foreign companies and disregard the main motive for enacting those contracts (boosting oil production). We demand the public prosecution and Iraqi judiciary to swiftly deal with this scandal and start a large-scale investigation to prosecute the involved officials."

Iraq is a major producer of oil, and revenues from the sector feed 90 percent of the federal government budget. A wave of anti-regime protests in late 2019 were spurred in large part by anger over corruption and the related dilapidation of public services.

Iraqi authorities are investigating the "theft" of $2.5 billion from the tax agency of the country suffering from endemic corruption.

An internal probe by the Finance Ministry found that the money had been withdrawn from the agency's account at a state-owned bank. The ministry has asked the government's anti-corruption body to investigate without naming the officials embroiled in the case.

Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Shia al-Sudani has vowed to tackle endemic corruption in the country and tweeted on Sunday, "We will not allow Iraqis' money to be robbed. We will never hesitate to take real measures to stop the corruption that has so brazenly spread across all levels of government."

The finance ministry's probe uncovered "the theft of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $2.5 billion) from the account of the general commission for taxes at Rafidain Bank."

A leaked document from the tax authority showed that the money was withdrawn between September 2021 and August 2022. It was transferred to the accounts of five different companies using 247 cheques, and immediately withdrawn from those accounts.

"Who are the real owners of these companies?" asked Iraqi political analyst Sajad Jiyad on Twitter. "Who authorized these cheques to be given to the companies? How did it go undetected for a year, and which politicians are complicit?"

Ihsan Ismail, the recently discharged acting finance minister, pointed to a "specific group" in a Saturday statement, without elaborating.

The anti-corruption commission announced Sunday it has launched an investigation, and said in a statement that it will provide the judiciary with all the information and documents it gathers "so that it can make the appropriate decisions" on individuals implicated in the case.

Iraq ranks a lowly 157 out of 180 countries in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index. Criminal charges are rare in Iraq and usually limited to mid-level government officials.

"Pervasive corruption is a major root cause of Iraqi dysfunctionality," UN envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the Security Council in early October. "And frankly, no leader can claim to be shielded from it."