Board of Supreme Audit 2025 annual report: Ministry of Electricity findings referred for investigation (Iranian payments account, Akkaz fuel system, substation contracts)
The Federal Board of Supreme Audit's annual report for 2025, published on 22 July 2026, lists findings on the Ministry of Electricity, many of which it recommended be investigated. It found that, because of US sanctions, the ministry paid the Iranian companies Tavanir and NIGC by transfer letters into their account at the Trade Bank of Iraq instead of by letters of credit; the account held USD 818.17 million on 31 December 2024 and was left out of the ministry's cash statement. The ministry booked IQD 2.84 trillion of oil barter for Iranian gas before the Board had audited the cargoes, IQD 131 billion more than the audited invoices. A USD 64.4 million direct contract for a crude-oil treatment system at the Akkaz gas power plant went to Sada al-Nujoom, an Iraqi intermediary rather than a manufacturer, contrary to a 2009 cabinet instruction. Two contracts with Rabban al-Safina were flagged: a USD 54.05 million Baghdad substations contract signed although the investments department had asked to wait, and USD 17.56 million paid to the company's bank in the UAE outside the letter of credit. In Maysan, 49 percent of the power received in 2023 was lost.
- Period
- From December 2021 to July 2026
- Sector
- Electricity and energy infrastructureAudit of ministry accounts and contracts
- Kind of case
- Audit finding
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved, according to the sources
Payments made outside letters of credit and outside the ministry's own cash statement, accounting entries made before cargoes were audited, direct contracts with intermediaries instead of manufacturers, contracts signed against internal advice, and high network losses.
What happened
The Board recommended that the listed findings be investigated and that the ministry follow the rules for government contracts. No Integrity Commission or court action on these specific findings is on record as of 19 October 2026.
Open questions
- Why the Iranian payments account was kept outside the ministry's cash statement, and who authorised payment by transfer letter.
- Whether the Integrity Commission opened cases on the Akkaz and Rabban al-Safina contracts.
- Who owns Sada al-Nujoom and Rabban al-Safina.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Yaseen United General Contracting Ltd شركة الياسين المتحدة للمقاولات العامة المحدودة | Supplier of poles and cables to the Middle distribution company (contract 276 of 27 December 2023, IQD 63.975 billion) | Disciplined by an official body | The audit board said the company did not meet its contract; the director general approved withdrawing the work and referring the company to the blacklisting committee, and the Union Bank of Iraq confiscated its guarantee, though the money had not reached the distribution company's account when the report was written. An administrative measure, not an accusation of a crime. | 19 October 2026 |
| Sada al-Nujoom for Trade, Contracting and Oil Services Ltd شركة صدى النجوم للتجارة والمقاولات والخدمات النفطية المحدودة | Contractor: crude-oil treatment system for the Akkaz gas power plant (contract 34 of 21 November 2023, USD 64.4 million) | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. The audit board said the production company contracted directly with an intermediary that does not make the equipment, contrary to a 2009 cabinet letter, and recommended an investigation; the finding concerns the contracting body. | 19 October 2026 |
| Rabban al-Safina General Contracting Ltd شركة ربان السفينة للمقاولات العامة المحدودة | Contractor: substations for the Baghdad distribution company (USD 54.05 million), the Middle distribution company (USD 19 million) and Karbala (IQD 16.35 billion) | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. The audit board found the Baghdad contract was signed although the investments and contracts department had asked to wait, and that USD 17.56 million was paid to the company's account at a bank in the UAE outside the letter of credit; it recommended investigation of both. The findings concern the contracting companies. | 19 October 2026 |
| Tavanir (Iran) تافانير | Iranian state power company paid by the ministry | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. Named as a payee: the audit board found the ministry paid it and NIGC by transfer letters into an account at the Trade Bank of Iraq rather than by letters of credit. | 19 October 2026 |
| National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) شركة NIGC | Iranian supplier of imported gas | Not charged as of the date of writing | Not charged as of the date of writing. Named as a payee: the audit board found the ministry booked IQD 2.84 trillion of oil barter for its gas before the cargoes were audited. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Federal Board of Supreme Audit22 July 2026Audit reportTier A
التقرير السنوي لديوان الرقابة المالية الاتحادي لسنة 2025 (وزارة الكهرباء، الصفحات من 232 إلى 253)
DocumentOriginal addressSHA-256 d73671625d4fقيام الوزارة ونتيجة للعقوبات الامريكية بدفع مستحقات شركتي ( تافانير ، NIGC ) الإيرانية بموجب كتب تحويل الى حساب الشركتين المذكورة في المصرف العراقي للتجارة
- Rudaw29 July 2026Press reportTier D
Iraq's supreme audit uncovers 530 financial impropriety cases worth some $30B
Original addressThe electricity ministry ranked second with 20 cases valued at 5.7 trillion IQD (about $4.4 billion)
Related cases
- Investment power plants on take-or-pay terms: about USD 937 million paid for power not received, from 2017 to 2022 (audit and parliamentary findings)
- Electricity fee collection: private service-and-collection contracts and uncollected bills (from 2019 to 2026)
- Central Electricity Distribution Company: seven-year illicit-enrichment sentence for a former director general and a three-year sentence for its finance director (2026)