ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity has registered 228 criminal cases and reports related to suspected oil smuggling between 2024 and 2026, with dozens still under investigation, Iraqi state media said on Sunday.
The commission said its Investigations Directorate had recorded 152 criminal cases and 76 reports concerning "suspicions and violations" related to oil smuggling, the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
Of the 152 criminal cases, 53 remain "under investigation" to complete investigative and legal procedures, while 11 have been referred to the competent courts. The commission also said its statistical report on the 76 registered reports showed that 37 remain "under investigation."
The figures come as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi intensifies efforts to crack down on oil smuggling following an investigation into alleged organized crude theft in Jurf al-Nasr, in Babil province - a stronghold of Iran-aligned faction Kataib Hezbollah - where authorities identified security and administrative failures.
Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi on Wednesday ordered a temporary parliamentary committee to investigate allegations of oil smuggling from Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region through Iran to Afghanistan, alongside other security-related concerns, including the attack on the Khor Mor gas field. According to a classified 14-page document, smuggled Iraqi crude is blended in Iran with Iranian petroleum products, and the mix is documented as Iraqi to evade sanctions.
The issue also confronts Iran-aligned factions and their involvement in the country’s security as well as control over sovereign state revenues.
The inquiry followed the emergence of a leaked intelligence report alleging organized oil theft in Jurf al-Nasr dating back to 2021. Citing an unnamed source, INA confirmed the authenticity of the leaked intelligence report, claiming that the smugglers used underground pits to store stolen crude, concealed pipeline breaches beneath white metal structures, operated a small illegal refinery, and intensified tanker movements at night to avoid surveillance.
On Saturday, following the investigative committee's findings, Zaidi dismissed nine senior security and administrative officials and ordered the referral of "all suspects involved in the oil smuggling operations" to the judiciary.
“Not a single inch of Iraq will remain where smuggling is practiced, from Zakho to Basra," Zaidi warned.
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