Court sentences oil distribution chief to 8 years, orders repayment of $36 million

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi court has sentenced Hussein Talib, director general of the state-owned Oil Products Distribution Company, to eight years in prison for benefiting from contracts at the North Refineries Company, the Federal Commission of Integrity said Tuesday.

The court also ordered Talib to repay 55 billion dinars (about $36 million at the official rate), the commission said. It did not name the court or say which article of the Penal Code he was convicted under.

Security forces arrested Talib, whose full name is Hussein Talib Abboud Marouh al-Fadhli, in Baghdad on July 8 over suspected involvement in corruption cases. The arrest came hours before he was due to be sworn in as a replacement member of parliament.

Talib belongs to Ammar al-Hakim’s Hikma Movement. The day after his arrest, the movement said it supported the government’s measures against corruption and that the judiciary alone could decide the case. It urged media outlets to be cautious and said any responsibility, if proven, would be personal and would not extend to the political group the accused belongs to.

The company, part of the Oil Ministry, supplies gasoline and other fuel to stations across Iraq. Talib’s arrest was part of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted several current and former officials.

The campaign intensified after the May 29 arrest of former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili, who was also director general of the North Refineries Company. The commission did not say whether Talib’s case was connected to Jumaili’s.

Searches in June uncovered about 40 properties linked to Jumaili in Baghdad, Salah al-Din and Erbil, along with roughly $10 million, 3 billion dinars (about $2.3 million at the time) and 1.5 kilograms of gold jewelry. Searches through July found more cash and gold hidden underground, inside walls, in water tanks and in a rainwater drainage pit, as well as commercial properties, flour mills and vehicles, some registered in other people’s names.

By Aug. 16, recoveries in the case stood at about 82 billion dinars (about $62 million at the time), $152 million in cash and 484 kilograms of gold. Security sources have said Jumaili’s questioning produced more than 100 names, though not all led to warrants or proceedings.

Four lawmakers have been jailed for seven years for illicit enrichment since mid-September: Bahaa al-Nouri on Sept. 16, Alia Nassif Jassim and Ashwaq Salim Hassan on Sept. 23, and Mohammed Farman al-Jubouri on Sept. 29. Three of them were among 15 figures state media named in June from what it said were 47 officials arrested on the strength of Jumaili’s confessions. In August, Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, the deputy oil minister for distribution, received the same term.

Azm Alliance leader and lawmaker Muthanna al-Samarrai, also among the 15, is on trial before the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court. He is being tried under Article 319 of the Penal Code, which covers public officials who profit from works or contracts connected to their posts. The court heard witness testimony on Oct. 19 after summoning several detained witnesses, including Jumaili and North Refineries Company employees.

The court is due to decide Samarrai’s case on Thursday, and a verdict in the case of former lawmaker Mohammed al-Sayhoud is expected on Nov. 8, a judicial source told 964media.