Baghdad electricity warehouse manager arrested over cable theft

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity said Sunday it had arrested the warehouse manager of Baghdad’s Rusafa Electricity Distribution Branch on allegations of embezzling electrical materials worth more than 4.4 billion dinars (about $3.34 million at the official rate), with a judge ordering the suspect held pending investigation.

The commission said a joint audit and investigative team dispatched to the Ministry of Electricity uncovered the alleged theft of electrical cables from warehouses belonging to the Rusafa branch, allegedly carried out by the manager with the help of two truck owners. The operation was conducted under a warrant from the Central Criminal Court for Combating Corruption under Article 315 of the penal code, and the suspect was ordered detained pending further investigation.

The arrest follows a series of integrity investigations into the electricity sector, spanning alleged billing manipulation, procurement fraud and warehouse theft across several governorates. In June, the commission announced the arrest of four senior officials in the Diyala Electricity Distribution Directorate over the alleged embezzlement of materials worth more than 1.74 billion dinars, accusing them of preparing unauthorized warehouse documents and concealing materials from inventory records. In February 2025, authorities arrested suspects in Karbala over the alleged theft of electrical materials from a government-funded project, saying the items had been hidden and falsely presented as unused surplus.

Iraq has faced recurring electricity shortages for decades, and the public grid continues to fall short of peak summer demand, leaving many residents dependent on private neighborhood generators. The system relies partly on Iranian gas vulnerable to regional conflict, along with weak transmission and distribution networks and losses before power reaches consumers.