Iraqi Oil Minister faces 29 corruption cases

 Iraqi Oil Minister faces 29 corruption cases

The Iraqi Minister of Oil Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail. Photo: AP

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Al-Karkh Investigation Court in Baghdad, concerned with looking into cases of integrity, is looking into corruption cases related to the Iraqi Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, judicial sources told Alsumaria News.

The sources indicated that the investigations focus on allegations of seizing plots of land in Baghdad and Basra governorates owned by the Central Oil Company (COC) and selling them in violation of laws.

The minister also asked foreign companies for amounts of money to help them win tenders related to the modernization of the gas desalination project in the West Qurna-2 field, the judicial sources mentioned.

Earlier in September, the total number of cases against the Iraqi Minister of Oil in the Commission of Integrity (COI) reached 29 criminal cases, all were referred to the Iraqi judiciary, according to media reports.

The COI referred 29 cases against the current Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, who is the former general manager of the Basra Oil Company (BOC), to the judiciary, after the COI completed its investigations in all cases, Baghdad Today News reported.