Baghdad Mayoralty: the Army Canal contract and the cases against former mayors Saber al-Issawi and Naim Aboub (from 2011 to 2023)
In June 2011 the Baghdad Mayoralty gave the development of the Army Canal to the Egyptian firm Arab Contractors for USD 146 million. In November 2011 Parliament questioned Mayor Saber al-Issawi over the contract; an MP of the integrity committee said the award was fictitious, and the mayor denied it. In January 2012 a committee source said deputy mayor Naim Aboub and the contracts director had been held over the canal. In August 2015 an integrity misdemeanour court gave al-Issawi one year in person over the reconstruction of Rashid Street. In October 2015 the Integrity Commission said arrest warrants had been issued for Aboub, mayor from 2013 to 2015, and his predecessor Abdul Hussein al-Murshidi. In January 2019 a court sentenced the former mayor and the former director general of parks in absentia to seven years over the canal contract, with damage of USD 12,165,350; the Commission named Aboub as the convicted man when he was detained on the Lebanese-Syrian border in May 2019. In March 2021 the Ministry of Finance lifted the seizure on his assets. Unnamed former mayors were also sentenced over a cleaning contract (2019) and land distribution (2023).
- Period
- From 2011 to July 2023
- Sector
- Local government and reconstructionBaghdad Mayoralty contracts (Army Canal, Rashid Street, cleaning, sewerage, land)
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Contracts awarded without cost estimates, by single offer or outside the contract rules, and land and property of the mayoralty leased or distributed against the rules, according to Parliament's questioning, the Integrity Commission and the courts.
What happened
Saber al-Issawi: one year in person (August 2015). Naim Aboub: one year in person (November 2017), the amnesty and the sentence annulled on the Commission's appeal (December 2017); seven years in absentia over the Army Canal (January 2019); detained in Syria (May 2019); seizure on his assets lifted (March 2021). Abdul Hussein al-Murshidi: arrest warrant (October 2015). Unnamed former mayors: three years over a cleaning contract (November 2019), three years over land distribution (July 2023); a summons over a sewerage contract (May 2023).
Open questions
- Whether Naim Aboub was handed over by Syria, retried or acquitted, and why the seizure on his assets was lifted in 2021.
- Whether the 2015 arrest warrant against Abdul Hussein al-Murshidi led to a trial.
- Which former mayors the 2019 and 2023 rulings and the 2023 summons concern.
- The names of the Egyptian and local companies in the 2019 ruling, and whether the Egyptian company is Arab Contractors.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naim Aboub نعيم عبعوب | Deputy mayor of Baghdad for municipal affairs; mayor of Baghdad (acting from July 2013 to 2015) | Convicted (reported) | The Integrity Commission said in January 2019 that the integrity criminal court in Baghdad had sentenced the former mayor of Baghdad and the former director general of parks in absentia to seven years under Article 340 of the Penal Code over the Army Canal development contract, with damage of USD 12,165,350; in May 2019 its recovery department named him as the man convicted in that case. In November 2017 an integrity misdemeanour court sentenced him in person to one year over the leasing and rehabilitation of mayoralty houses; in December 2017 the Rusafa appeals court annulled his inclusion in the general amnesty and the sentence, so that it could be made heavier. He was detained on the Lebanese-Syrian border in May 2019. In March 2021 the Ministry of Finance lifted the seizure on his assets, citing letters of the Rusafa criminal court; the reason, and the result of any retrial, were not found as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Saber al-Issawi صابر العيساوي | Mayor of Baghdad (until 2013) | Convicted (reported) | An integrity misdemeanour court sentenced him in person to one year's imprisonment under Article 331 of the Penal Code over the reconstruction of Rashid Street, according to the judge's statement relayed by Alsumaria on 25 August 2015. In November and December 2011 Parliament questioned him over the Army Canal contract and other files; he rejected the accusations, and a vote on his dismissal was postponed in February 2012. No later ruling is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Former director general of the parks department, Baghdad Mayoralty (unnamed) المدير العام السابق لدائرة المتنزهات في أمانة بغداد (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director general of the parks department, Baghdad Mayoralty | Convicted (reported) | Sentenced in absentia with the former mayor to seven years under Article 340 over the Army Canal development contract, which the Integrity Commission said was signed with an Egyptian and a local company without cost estimates (statement of 23 January 2019). Not named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Former mayor of Baghdad in the 2019 and 2023 rulings (unnamed) أمين بغداد السابق في حكمي 2019 و2023 (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Mayor of Baghdad (former) | Convicted (reported) | The Integrity Commission did not name him. In November 2019 the Rusafa misdemeanour court sentenced a former mayor in absentia to three years under Article 331 for not carrying out a contract he had signed to privatise cleaning in the Rusafa municipality, which led the company to sue the mayoralty. In July 2023 the Rusafa integrity misdemeanour court sentenced an earlier mayor in absentia to three years' rigorous imprisonment under Article 331 over land distributed under Cabinet decision 254 of 2013, after the Commission's appeal against his inclusion in the general amnesty. In May 2023 an earlier mayor was summoned over the EPC sewerage contract. Whether these steps concern one person, or the mayors named, is not stated. | 19 October 2026 |
| Abdul Hussein al-Murshidi عبد الحسين ناصر المرشدي | Deputy mayor of Baghdad for administrative affairs; acting mayor (September 2012 to July 2013) | Charged or wanted | The head of the Integrity Commission said on 15 October 2015 that an arrest warrant had been issued against him and that he was barred from travel; the charge was not stated. No later step is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Former director general of Baghdad sewerage and former head of contracts, Baghdad Mayoralty (two people, unnamed) المدير العام السابق لمجاري بغداد ومدير قسم العقود السابق في أمانة بغداد (شخصان لم يُذكر اسماهما) | Director general of the Baghdad Sewerage Directorate; head of the contracts department of the mayoralty | Under investigation | The Rusafa integrity investigation court summoned them, with a former mayor, under Article 340 over violations in the contract to supply, install and operate a Baghdad wastewater project awarded to the Swedish company EPC (Integrity Commission statement, 11 May 2023). Not named; no later step is on record. | 19 October 2026 |
| Arab Contractors (Egyptian contracting company) شركة المقاولون العرب المصرية | Company awarded the Army Canal development in June 2011, according to press reports | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. Parliament's questioning of the mayor in November 2011 and Alsumaria in February 2012 named it as the firm awarded the Army Canal development in June 2011 for USD 146 million. The Integrity Commission's 2019 statement refers only to an Egyptian company and a local company, without names, and makes no finding against them. | 19 October 2026 |
| EPC (Swedish company in the Baghdad wastewater contract) شركة EPC السويدية | Contractor for the supply, installation and operation of a Baghdad wastewater project | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. Named by the Integrity Commission on 11 May 2023 as the Swedish company awarded the contract; the summonses concern former mayoralty officials, not the company. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Alsumaria News28 November 2011Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
مجلس النواب يستجوب أمين بغداد صابر العيساوي بتهم تتعلق بملفات فساد
Original addressان أمانة بغداد عرضت تنفيذ مشروع قناة الجيش لشركة "المقاولون العرب" إلا أنها خفضت المبلغ بنسبة ستة واربعين في المئة وهذا يثير الاستغراب، كاشفا أن وزارة الموارد
- Alsumaria News29 November 2011Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
مجلس النواب يستجوب صابر العيساوي بتهم تتعلق بملفات فساد
Original addressجلسة البرلمان ليوم الاثنين خصصت بشكل كامل لاستجواب امين بغداد صابر العيساوي ووكلائه في الامانة، الا ان الجلسة لم تستوعب سوى لمناقشة سؤال واحد من اصل سبعة عشر سؤالا اعدها
- Alsumaria News16 February 2012Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة البرلمانية تعلن تأجيل التصويت على إقالة العيساوي إلى الأول من آذار المقبل
Original addressأحالت في حزيران من العام الماضي 2011 تطوير قناة الجيش إلى شركة المقاولون العرب المصرية بكلفة 146 مليون دولار
- Alsumaria News30 April 2012Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة البرلمانية تطالب العيساوي بتنفيذ أوامر الاعتقال الصادرة بحق نائبه فورا
Original addressطالبت لجنة النزاهة في مجلس النواب العراقي، الاثنين، أمين بغداد صابر العيساوي بتنفيذ أوامر الاعتقال الصادرة بحق نائبه وعدد آخر من منتسبي
- Alsumaria News (statement of the integrity misdemeanour court judge)25 August 2015Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
جنح النزاهة تصدر حكماً بالحبس لمدة سنة بحق أمين بغداد الأسبق صابر العيساوي
Original addressان "المحكمة دانت الأمين الأسبق لبغداد صابر العيساوي عن ملف اعمار شارع ... "القرار صدر وجاهياً،
- Alsumaria News15 October 2015Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تصدر اوامر قبض بحق عبعوب والمرشدي ومدراء بامانة بغداد
Original addressان "امرا بإلقاء القبض صدر اليوم الخميس بحق امين بغداد السابق نعيم عبعوب وأمين بغداد الاسبق عبد الحسين
- Alsumaria News18 February 2016Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تحيل بهاء الاعرجي وصالح المطلك وفاروق الاعرجي ونعيم عبعوب للقضاء
Original addressاعلنت هيئة النزاهة ، الخميس، عن احالة كلا من بهاء الاعرجي وصالح المطلك وفاروق الاعرجي ونعيم عبعوب الى القضاء، بتهم الكسب غير
- Alsumaria News15 December 2017Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تكشف عن نقض قرار شمول امين بغداد السابق بقانون العفو العام
Original addressحكما حضوريا يقضي بالحبس مدة سنة واحدة بحق نعيم عبعوب، لإقدامه على اقتراف مجموعة مخالفات وتجاوز للصلاحيات في موضوع تأجير وتأهيل دور
- Alsumaria News23 January 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة: الحكم بسجن أمين بغداد السابق لإضراره المال العام بأكثر من 12 مليون دولار
Original address"تمَّ التعاقد مع شركةٍ مصريَّةٍ وأخرى محليَّةٍ، استناداً لقرار اللجنة الرئيسة للتعاقد في الأمانة دون إعداد الكلف التخمينيَّـة للمشروع، وأنَّ مقدار الضرر الحاصل بلغ (12,165,350)
- Shafaq News29 May 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة العراقية: المُدان نعيم عبعوب يواجه السجن سبع سنوات وسنستعيده من سوريا
Original addressمُدانٌ بقضيَّة فسادٍ تتعلَّق بإضراره العمديِّ بالأموال العامَّة في مشروع تطوير قناة الجيش، ومحكومٌ عليه بالسجن مُدَّة سبع سنواتٍ، استناداً إلى أحكام
- Shafaq News24 November 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
الحبس ثلاث سنوات لأمين بغداد السابق
Original addressالمُدان لم يقم بتنفيذ العقد الذي وقعه مع إحدى الشركات لخصخصة قطاع النظافة في دائرة بلدية
- Shafaq News30 March 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
وثيقة.. المالية ترفع إشارة الحجز عن الأموال المنقولة وغير المنقولة لـ"نعيم عبعوب"
Original addressأصدرت وزارة المالية، أمراً برفع إشارة الحجز عن الأموال المنقولة وغير المنقولة العائدة لأمين بغداد الأسبق، نعيم عبعوب.
- 96411 May 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
استقدام أمين بغداد الأسبق بتهمة الإضرار بالمال العام.. شبهات حول عقد سويدي
Original addressجرَّاء المخالفات المُرتكبة في عقد تجهيز ونصب وتشغيل مشروع ماء الصرف الصحي في بغداد المحال على شركة
- Baghdad Today10 July 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
طعن من النزاهة يلغي "العفو" عن أمين بغداد الأسبق ويصدر حكمًا بالحبس 3 سنوات
Original addressأصدرت حكماً غيابيآ يقضي بالحبس الشديد لمُدَّة ثلاث سنواتٍ بحقِّ أمين بغداد الأسبق؛ جرَّاء المُخالفات المرتكبة التي رافقت توزيع الأراضي وفق قرار
- Alsumaria News18 January 2012Press reportTier D
اعتقال وكيل أمانة بغداد ومدير العقود في الأمانة بتهمة الفساد المالي والإداري
Original addressأكد مصدر في لجنة النزاهة البرلمانية للسومرية نيوز اعتقال وكيل أمانة بغداد / نعيم عبعوب/ ومدير العقود في الأمانة بتهمة الفساد المالي والإداري في عقد تطوير قناة الجيش شرق بغداد
- Asharq Al-Awsat (English)30 May 2019Press reportTier D
Former Baghdad Mayor Arrested on Lebanon-Syria Border
Original addressThe Interpol arrested on Tuesday former Baghdad mayor Naeem Abaob on the Syrian-Lebanese border on charges of corruption and embezzlement while in office between 2013