Iraqi Court Jails Two Sunni Leaders and Oil Official Over $58 Million in Graft
Sentences announced Thursday include six years for Azm Alliance head Muthanna al-Samarrai and eight years for a former oil distribution director.
By Samuel Hayes ·
An Iraqi court issued prison terms to two senior Sunni politicians and a former executive of a state oil company on Thursday. The rulings conclude a corruption probe involving contracts with state-owned refineries.
Muthanna al-Samarrai, the leader of the Azm Alliance, received a six-year sentence. His party holds 15 seats in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament. Ziad al-Janabi, a lawmaker from the smaller Sunni party Tashree, was sentenced to five years.
The court found that both men profited from agreements with the North and South Refineries Companies. These state entities process crude oil and produce petroleum derivatives. Prosecutors alleged the lawmakers collected commissions to steer contracts toward firms connected to them.
The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that al-Samarrai must repay 30 billion Iraqi dinars. That amount equals $19.8 million. Al-Janabi is ordered to pay back 4 billion dinars, or $2.6 million. Neither political party issued an immediate comment on the verdicts.
Hussein Talib, former Director General of the Oil Products Distribution Company, was sentenced to eight years in prison for a related charge. He was found to have intervened in contract awards for personal benefit. His repayment order totals 55 billion dinars, or $36.3 million. The sentence was handed down Wednesday but announced publicly on Thursday.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pledged to fight corruption after taking office earlier this year. In June, authorities arrested dozens of officials, including members of the former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Shiite bloc and others from the Azm Alliance.
In a separate ruling on Thursday, an Iraqi criminal court sentenced three French nationals to life in prison. They were convicted on terrorism charges linked to their membership in the Islamic State group. Seven other French citizens received similar sentences on Tuesday. All ten defendants were part of a group of 47 French citizens accused of IS ties who were transferred from Syria to Iraq for trial last year.
Source: Stamford Advocate
