The latest corruption news from Iraq – company or government bribes, theft, stealing – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By Dr Amer K. Hirmis. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Public sector investment in Iraq - What strategic priorities for the new Prime Minister? Iraq is still in turmoil, four months since the Uprising, in October 2019. Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) […]
By John Lee. Transparency International has said that Iraq's ranking has risen slightly in its global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). From a total of 180 countries, Iraq came in at number 162; last year's position was 168 out of 180 countries. This result puts it on equal ranking with Chad and Cambodia. Libya was ranked […]
By John Lee. The trial has begun in London of three British businessmen accused of conspiring to pay bribes totalling $6m (£4.6m) to win contracts in Iraq worth $800 million. According to the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Monaco-based Unaoil bribed Iraqi officials to help Dutch-based SBM Offshore [Single Buoy Moorings], and Singapore's Leighton Offshore, […]
By John Lee. Court filings in the United States have reportedly shed new light on corruption in Iraq. Louis Auge, of EU Reporter, writes that two members of Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) recieved houses in London in return for their role in the expropriation of over $800 million from French telecom firm Orange […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Commission of Integrity has revealed that it has concluded cases resulting in fines of more than 245 billion dinars ($206 million) on private banks, due to violations relating to customs licences and foreign currency auction instructions for 2012. The CoI mentioned that one of these corruption cases related to a private […]
The following is attributable to US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus: Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke [on Tuesday] with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi. Secretary Pompeo emphasized that peaceful public demonstrations are a fundamental element of all democracies. The Secretary deplored the death toll among the protesters as a result of the […]
Two brothers have pleaded guilty in the US to facilitating the payment of millions of dollars in bribes to officials in nine countries, including Iraq. Cyrus Ahsani, 51, and Saman Ahsani, 46, both of United Kingdom (UK), ran the Monaco-based oil and gas consultancy Unaoil. They are due to be sentenced on 20th April, 2020. […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Government has said it will reduce the salaries of ministers, members of parliament, and senior officials by up to 50 percent, and invest the money saved in a new social security fund to support Iraqis in need. In a statement on Friday, it also announced the establishment of a special […]
The Iraqi government has announced that it had turned nine senior former officials over to the judiciary regarding corruption charges, and pledged to turn others over soon, news agencies reported. In a statement, the Iraqi Supreme Anti-Corruption Council referred corruption cases of “nine high-ranking officials to the judiciary after the completion of the legal procedures […]
By Toby Dodge, for Chatham House. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In March and April, an extensive opinion poll carried out across Iraq found that the population were only united by very high levels of pessimism (opens in new window) about the […]
By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Transparency in the Arab Countries’ Upstream Petroleum Sector- Iraq as case study* While upstream petroleum sector is either dominant or has significant importance in many Arab economies of MENA region, the transparency […]
By John Lee. Oil and gas company TechnipFMC has agreed to pay more than $5 million to settle an Iraq-related corruption case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company is alleged to have taken part in bribery between 2008 and 2013 to secure business from Iraqi state-owned oil companies. Just last month, […]
