21 held over unauthorised tanker parking at Baiji and Siniya refineries

SALAH AL-DIN — 21 people have been arrested over parking lots operating without authorisation near the Baiji and Siniya refineries, where the Federal Commission of Integrity says they charged tanker drivers a fee and blocked those who would not pay from reaching the refinery.

Investigators seized 87,229,000 dinars, about $66,000 at the official rate, along with stamps, records and receipt books used to collect the money, the commission said. Two teams from its Salah al-Din investigation office checked with government departments and found no contract existed for the land being used, before running operations at the two sites. A judge handling integrity cases ordered all 21 detained.

Baiji has featured in the wider corruption investigation. Adnan al-Jumaili, arrested in May, had been deputy oil minister for refining affairs and director general of both the North Refineries Company and the Baiji refinery. The Supreme Judicial Council announced a further recovery in that case on Sunday of $20.34 million, 200 million dinars and 60 kilograms of gold, bringing the total to about 82 billion dinars and $152 million in cash along with 484 kilograms of gold.