MP Zahraa Luqman al-Saadi speaks during an interview on Al Rabia TV in which she raised allegations related to projects and contracts within Iraq’s Industry Ministry.
Industry ministry denies MP’s claim that $800 million was stolen through fake Karbala project
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Industry and Minerals on Monday denied allegations by a lawmaker that $800 million had been stolen through a fake ministry project in Karbala, calling the claims “completely false” and threatening legal action.
Badr Organization MP Zahraa Luqman al-Saadi said in a televised interview that an Industry Ministry project in Karbala worth $800 million had yielded nothing but concrete foundations upon inspection. She also alleged that a fan factory in Diyala worth 3 billion dinars (about $1.97 million) had been sold to an investor for 38 million dinars (about $25,000), and raised separate concerns about defense contracts for air defense systems and radars from European countries whose funds had been spent but the equipment never delivered.
The ministry said no industrial complex belonging to it exists in Karbala. “There is an industrial city being established on an area of 5,300 dunams by the private sector,” it said, describing it as a petrochemical and oil industry hub with no state financial contribution. On the fan factory, the ministry said it had been announced for investment but no offers had been submitted. It described the figures cited in the interview as “contrary to reason and logic.”
The ministry said it would “take the necessary legal measures against the mentioned lawmaker” and invited media outlets to visit both sites to verify conditions on the ground.