Between oil smuggling and salary theft… the Barzani family continues to plunder the region’s wealth
Between oil smuggling and salary theft… the Barzani family continues to plunder the region’s wealth
2-8-2025
Information / Baghdad ..
Despite the federal government’s commitment to sending the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s employees, the regional government has not disbursed these dues to its employees, which has sparked widespread public anger.
While thousands of employees suffer from delayed salaries, the regional government continues to monopolize the funds without clarifying their fate.
In addition, the region continues to smuggle oil and does not hand over its oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad, which raises questions about where this money goes? While the financial crisis worsens, the regional government remains mired in corruption and mismanagement, amid direct accusations against the Barzani family of seizing these revenues and not directing them to pay employees’ salaries.
Protests in the region’s governorates have reached unprecedented levels, as employees took to the streets in mass sit-ins despite the cold weather, and some resorted to a hunger strike in an attempt to pressure the regional government, but the latter did not move a finger.
On the subject, MP Hadi Al-Salami stressed that oil smuggling and lost revenues in the region threaten the national economy.
Al-Salami said in a statement to / Al-Maalouma / agency, that “a book issued by the North Oil Company, affiliated with the federal Ministry of Oil, revealed that the regional guards had taken control of oil and gas fields affiliated with the federal government and exploited them in smuggling operations of up to 280 thousand barrels per day.”
He added that “the region is refraining from sending non-oil revenues to the federal government, estimated at about 4 trillion dinars, in clear violation of financial obligations.”
He explained that “the Ministry of Finance issued a clarification in which it confirmed the region’s obligation to abide by financial laws and instructions, stressing the need to comply with federal financial regulations,” noting that “the House of Representatives referred the oil smuggling file to the Public Prosecution and the judiciary will be the arbitrator in this file.”
He pointed out that “there is a constitutional violation by the Council of Ministers, as it did not commit to submitting the final accounts to the House of Representatives in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution, in addition to violating the Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019, and the Tripartite Budget Law No. 16 of 2023.”
In light of the continued financial blackout and lack of transparency, demands are increasing for the intervention of regulatory and judicial authorities to reveal the truth about the fate of the stolen funds, and to put an end to the exploitation of the region’s wealth and the deprivation of employees of their legitimate rights.
Regarding the issue, political analyst Ibrahim Al-Sarraj said in a statement to / Al-Maalouma / agency, that “oil smuggling in the Kurdistan Region does not only serve internal parties, but the United States, Turkey, the Zionist entity, and other countries and companies benefit from it,” noting that “these parties support the region in continuing smuggling operations and are trying to help it in this file.”
He added that “the region is not serious about resolving problems with Baghdad, but rather seeks to prolong the current crisis to benefit from illicit revenues, instead of adhering to laws and understandings with the federal government,” indicating that “the region uses platforms for defamation and other tools to weaken Baghdad’s position.”
He explained that “the political mood of some figures contributed to disrupting the federal government’s control over the oil smuggling file,” stressing that “some political forces are only focusing on the salary problem while there are more complex files with the region that must be addressed, most notably control over national resources and wealth.”
The Kurdistan Region’s employee salary crisis remains a glaring example of financial mismanagement and lack of transparency, as thousands of employees are deprived of their dues despite the federal government’s commitment to sending money.
In light of the continued smuggling of oil and the seizure of revenues without providing any official clarification about the fate of these funds, the suffering of citizens who face cold and hunger in their protests is exacerbated while the regional government ignores them.
With the escalation of popular anger and the expansion of the scope of sit-ins, the most important question remains: How long will the theft of the region’s funds continue at the expense of citizens’ rights? What is required today is serious action from the regulatory and judicial authorities to put an end to this corruption, and to ensure that the funds reach those who deserve them instead of being lost in the corridors of personal interests.
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