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OilPrice.com (24 November 2019)

By Simon Watkins

Barely a month goes by without yet another corruption scandal emerging or developing in Iraq. Whether it be the Barzanis’ industrial-scale corruption in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan or the endemic multi-level corruption in the south it is little wonder that Iraq ranks as one of the very worst countries in the world for bribery and corruption. The last month or so has seen dramatic developments in two new massive corruption scandals: one in the Kurdistan region and the other in the south. Ironically, both tangentially benefit the de facto ruler of Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr.

The most recent development comes in the latest news on the US$1.6 billion-plus lawsuit being brought by Iraqi firm, Dynasty Company for Oil & Gas Trading Limited (Dynasty), against two defendants: firstly, the entire government of Iraq’s Kurdistan region (the KRG), and secondly – extremely unusually for such an action - personally against the former Minister of Natural Resources, Abdullah Abdul Rahman Abdullah (commonly known as Ashti Hawrami). He was recently ‘redesignated’ as Assistant Prime Minister for Energy Affairs in Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s newish government. The original lawsuit was filed on 14 August at the U.K. Royal Courts of Justice and alleges, among others: ‘Conspiracy to injure Dynasty by unlawful means’, ‘Unlawful interference’, and ‘Unlawful intimidation’.

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