A Kurdish opposition figure reveals a daily trick used by the regional government to smuggle oil.
A Kurdish opposition figure reveals a daily trick used by the regional government to smuggle oil.
9-14-2025
Al-Maalouma/Exclusive..
Kurdish opposition figure Saman Ali accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday of continuing to smuggle oil through what he described as “deceptive” methods, with the aim of circumventing federal government decisions and ensuring the continued sale of crude oil without Baghdad’s knowledge.
Ali told Al-Maalouma Agency, “The KRG has long relied on a daily fraud mechanism, through which it registers tanker receipts at official and unofficial ports as carrying petroleum derivatives, when in fact they are loaded with crude oil.”
He added, “These practices represent a systematic deception to delude regulatory authorities that the tankers are transporting refined petroleum products, which allows them to pass without scrutiny, to be later exported or sold outside the supervision of the federal government.” He explained that “this is done with the knowledge and coordination of some influential parties within the region.”
The Kurdish opposition figure pointed out that “the insistence on these illegal methods is not limited to oil smuggling alone, but rather reflects the region’s desire to pursue a policy of economic independence from Baghdad, even if it is at the expense of the national interest.”
He pointed out that “the ongoing fraud in the oil file exacerbates the disputes between the central government and the region, and deprives the Iraqi treasury of billions of dollars in revenue.”
It is noteworthy that the federal general budget obligated the regional government to deliver no less than 400,000 barrels per day through SOMO, in exchange for Baghdad’s commitment to paying the salaries of Kurdistan employees. However, disagreements over the implementation mechanism are still ongoing.
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