Iraq court sentences ex-oil official Hussein Talib Abboud to 8 years

Iraq’s Criminal Court for Combating Corruption sentenced Hussein Talib Abboud, the former director general of the State Company for Oil Products Distribution, to 8 years in prison and ordered him to repay 55 billion Iraqi dinars.

Abboud had been expected to enter parliament in a seat vacated by Baghdad Mayor Ammar Musa Kadhim. Security forces arrested Abboud in Baghdad in July 2026, shortly before he was due to take the parliamentary oath, OCCRP said, citing Iraqi media. Abboud is a member of the Hikma National Movement.

The contracts at issue

Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission said Abboud used his position and connection to refinery financing to intervene in the awarding and payment of 40 contracts and 29 purchase orders at the North Refineries Company, directing them to firms linked to him. The commission put their combined value at 181 billion Iraqi dinars.

The commission said Abboud received benefits worth 30 billion dinars from the transactions, while other parties received 35 billion dinars.

Al Mashhad said the judgment was based on Article 319 of Iraq’s Penal Code. Its October 28 report dated the commission’s announcement to 27 October 2026, but did not date the judgment.

Wider campaign

The conviction followed an anti-corruption campaign launched in April 2026. In June, authorities arrested Ziad al-Janabi, the former chairman of parliament’s Integrity Committee.

Qaisar al-Jorani, a member of parliament’s oil, gas and natural resources committee, said the verdict showed that official positions do not grant immunity from accountability. He called for investigations into people who facilitated or ignored violations that damaged state finances, as well as changes to how energy-sector contracts are awarded, evaluated and audited.