The latest corruption news from Iraq – company or government bribes, theft, stealing – brought to you by Iraq Business News
Iraq's Commission on Integrity referred hundreds of cases of suspected corruption, involving 1088 suspected criminals, to the judiciary in the first quarter of this year. The total value of the frauds involved comes to $69 million (83 billion Iraqi dinars). A organisation's quarterly report breaks down the cases by region: Baghdad /Al-Rysafa: 67 cases; Al-Karkh office, […]
Iraq has ranked worst on the Committee to Protect Journalists' Impunity Index for the fifth consecutive year. The Impunity Index calculates unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country's population. With more than 90 unsolved murders, Iraq's impunity rating dwarfs that of every other nation. "Most of the murders occurred as Iraq was immersed […]
A former U.S. civilian contractor has pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of North Carolina to conspiring to steal military generators in Iraq in 2011 and selling them on the black market, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District […]
The head of Iraq's Integrity Commission, Judge Ala’a Jwad Hameed, has said that rooting out corruption is the duty of all honest Iraqis, and expressed his optimism for increased cooperation between the Commission and government agencies. At a meeting with the governors of Najaf, Karbala and Babel, he emphasised the need to create a culture […]
The European Commission has imposed fines totalling 169 million euros on 14 freight forwarding companies for conspiring to fix the prices of surcharges. In 2003, soon after the UK introduced electronic declarations for exports, the companies broke the law by conspiring to levy a surcharge for this reporting service, according to the Financial Times. They agreed […]
AFP reports that three men have been charged with conspiring to defraud the US government over a kickback scheme involving contracts for ammunition disposal in Iraq. Briton Ahmed Sarchil Kazzaz and his business, Leadstay Company, were charged in federal court in the southern state of Alabama along with US citizens Gaines Newell, 52, and Billy […]
A departmental head at Iraq's South Oil Company (SOC) has reportedly fled the country after being accused of accepting bribes from a subsidiary of Australia's Leighton Holdings to help it secure contracts in southern Iraq. Uday Awad, a member of the Iraqi parliament's oil and energy committee, told The Australian that the head of the […]
The establishment of a new transparency board to promote integrity and anti-corruption practises in Kurdistan was announced on this week, according to AKnews. The so-called Transparency Development and Impeachment Board will investigate government conduct, identify shortcomings and inform the relative bodies. Husam Barzinji [Hisam Hakim Barzinji], the General director of the Kurdistan Economic Development Organization, […]
Fadel Mohammed, legal adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has said that the Iraqi government is currently pursuing more than 150 foreign companies accused of corruption in the UN's Oil-for-Food program. AKnews reports that the government is determined to bring these companies to justice, adding that there are several other companies under investigation. The Oil-for-Food […]
Iraq has threatened to expel Leighton Holdings from the country’s lucrative oil and gas fields, following the company's announcement on Monday of an investigation into possible corruption. The deputy head of the Iraqi Oil Ministry’s petroleum contracts and licensing directorate, Sabah Al-Saidi, told The Australian Financial Review he was shocked by claims that Leighton Holdings […]
Leighton Holdings Limited (Leighton) has announced that it has reported to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) a possible breach of its Code of Ethics that, if substantiated, may contravene Australian laws. The possible breach related to payments that may have been made by Leighton’s subsidiary company, Leighton Offshore Pte. Limited, in connection with work to […]
A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government participated in the 3rd Middle East Summit on Anti-Corruption. The conference was a platform for senior-level executives in both public and private sectors to discuss strategies for minimizing bribery risks in the Middle East and implementing an effective and risk-based global compliance program. Ms Nisar Talabany, Senior Adviser […]
