Iraq is investigating allegations of corruption against senior officials in the oil sector


2016-04-02 19:18:12 | (Voice of Iraq) - Reuters

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al - Abadi on Saturday , the Integrity Commission, the highest watchdog in the country to investigate allegations of corruption in the granting oil contracts and urged the judiciary to carry out prosecutions required.

The joint report showed last week between Fairfax Media Australian newspaper Huffington Post was based on hundreds of thousands of e-mails relationship between Leona Oil Energy Corporation and a number of international oil companies and the corrupt practices , such as allegations of taking bribes from countries including Iraq.

A statement issued by the Information Office of Ebadi , "the Prime Minister ... directs the Integrity Commission to take legal action and calls for the judiciary to carry out prosecutions spot about serious investigative journalism ... which revealed the involvement of senior Iraqi officials in the state in corrupt deals and kickbacks related to oil contracts during the previous governments. "

And suffering Iraq , which relies on oil exports for most of its revenues from corruption and mismanagement for many years and was ranked No. 161 among the 168 countries in the annual report of Transparency International on corruption for 2015.

Corruption is still swallows the government 's resources as it struggles to cope with higher expenses due to the cost of the war on the organization of the Islamic state , which took over a third of Iraqi territory in the north and west in 2014.

He pledged to fight corruption and Abadi on Thursday proposed a new government constituted aims to weaken patronage networks, but faces resistance from politicians fear that reform will reduce their wealth and influence.

The report said Iraqi officials several names , including former oil minister Hussein al - Shahristani , the report said that by the millions of dollars in bribes to influence the granting oil contracts.

He denied al - Shahristani is currently Minister of Higher Education of the outgoing charges. He said on Saturday he was not aware of any attempt to bribe officials from the Ministry of Oil during the period in which the ministry took over and he has not contacted anyone from Leona Oil Company.

Shahristani told reporters : " I did not meet or know or contact either by telephone or e - mails does not directly or through an intermediary does not in any way not during this period in question between 2010 and 2012 and not before or after any one of these people." He said , adding that he heard for the first time all these names of the report.

He urged al - Shahristani , a leader of the ruling Iraqi National Coalition Government to investigate with both named in the report , one of them called the Huffington Post newspaper to hand over documents which they were based.

" The law requires those who have any information that (corruption) that detects it ."

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