Cases

State Company for Foodstuff Trading: unfit tea for the ration and its directors general before the courts (from 2009 to 2023)

In September 2012 MP Jawad al-Shuhaili of Parliament's integrity committee said a 2009 ministry letter recorded 258,000 tonnes of expired tea in ministry stores and that some of it was being sold in Baghdad; he held the former acting minister Safa al-Din al-Safi responsible for not destroying it. In August 2021 the Integrity Commission said a Karkh court had sentenced a former director general of the State Company for Foodstuff Trading to seven years in absentia over a tea contract whose no-objection letter came nine months late, which allowed the tea grades to be changed. In November 2022 a Karbala court sentenced a former director general to seven years in absentia over 2,500 tonnes of tea found unfit and bought without the minister's approval. In April 2023 the Commission found 1,246 tonnes of tea supplied in 2006 still lying unfit in Basra stores, and in July 2023 a Basra judge summoned four former directors general who had been surcharged IQD 108.74 billion for spoiled tea. Separately, on 27 July 2021 the anti-corruption committee arrested the serving director general, Qasim Hammoud Mansour, and said he had tampered with ration items and taken bribes.

Period: From 2009 to July 2023
Sector: Trade and food securityRation tea contracts and storage (State Company for Foodstuff Trading)
Kind of case: Criminal prosecution
Jurisdiction: Federal Iraq

How the money moved

Tea contracts signed without required approvals or with late clearances, acceptance of tea later found unfit, and failure to act against defaulting suppliers, leaving spoiled tea in company stores.

What happened

Two in absentia sentences of seven years against former directors general (2021, 2022); an arrest warrant for illicit enrichment against a former director general (2022); a summons and IQD 108.74 billion surcharge on four former directors general (2023); the 2021 arrest of the serving director general, with no court outcome found as of 19 October 2026.

Open questions

Whether the directors general sentenced in 2021 and 2022 are the same person, and whether either is Qasim Hammoud Mansour.
Names of the tea suppliers.
Outcome of the 2021 arrest of Qasim Hammoud Mansour.
Whether the IQD 108.74 billion has been recovered.

Headline amount

IQD 108.7 billion

Basis: Amount surcharged on four former directors general for spoiled tea (Integrity Commission statement, 28 July 2023)

Source: the documents listed under SourcesTier B

The amounts

IQD 108.7 billionTier B
Surcharge on four former directors general for spoiled tea

Each figure is shown as its source gives it, with its evidence tier. Figures from different sources are not added together. What the tiers mean

Institutions

Ministry of Trade
State Company for Foodstuff Trading (victim institution)
Karkh Criminal Court, Karbala Criminal Court, Karkh second investigation court and Basra integrity investigation court (courts)
Federal Integrity Commission (investigator)
Parliament's integrity committee (2012 statement)
Committee for Combating Corruption and Investigating Important Crimes (2021 arrest)

People and companies

The table lists everyone this case names, with their legal status on the date shown. A status in this case does not carry over to any other case, and an accusation is not a conviction. How to read the status.

People and companies
Name	Role in the case	Legal status	Detail	As of
Former director general of the State Company for Foodstuff Trading sentenced in August 2021 (not named) مدير عام أسبق للشركة العامة لتجارة المواد الغذائية حُكم في آب 2021 (لم يُذكر اسمه)	Former director general, State Company for Foodstuff Trading	Convicted (reported)	The Integrity Commission said on 3 August 2021 that the Karkh Criminal Court (third panel) had sentenced him in absentia to seven years under Article 340 with the participation articles, ordered his arrest and upheld the seizure of his property, over an irregular contract with a tea supplier whose no-objection letter came nine months late, which allowed the tea grades to be changed.	19 October 2026
Former director general of the State Company for Foodstuff Trading sentenced in November 2022 (not named) مدير عام سابق للشركة العامة لتجارة المواد الغذائية حُكم في تشرين الثاني 2022 (لم يُذكر اسمه)	Former director general, State Company for Foodstuff Trading	Convicted (reported)	The Integrity Commission said on 22 November 2022 that the Karbala Criminal Court (first panel) had sentenced him in absentia to seven years under Article 340 over a contract to supply 2,500 tonnes of tea that tests showed unfit for human consumption, made without the minister's approval; the court cited the company's complaint, the central surcharge committee and his flight. On 27 November 2022 the Commission announced an arrest and search warrant from the Karkh second investigation court, under Article 19 (second) of the Integrity and Illicit Gain Law No. 30 of 2011, against a former director general of the same company over an increase in his wealth, without saying whether it was the same man.	19 October 2026
Safa al-Din al-Safi صفاء الدين الصافي	Acting Minister of Trade after the 2009 resignation of Abdul Falah al-Sudani; Minister of State for Parliament Affairs in 2012	Charged or wanted	In November 2011 a corruption charge against him in the vegetable oils case was dropped. Parliament's integrity committee said on 18 July 2012 that a second arrest warrant had been issued against him on administrative and financial corruption charges, and on 6 September 2012 committee member Jawad al-Shuhaili held him responsible for not destroying 258,000 tonnes of expired tea recorded in ministry stores in 2009, some of which, he said, was being sold in Baghdad. No later outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026.	19 October 2026
Qasim Hammoud Mansour قاسم حمود منصور	Director general, State Company for Foodstuff Trading (in office in July 2021)	Arrested	Arrested on 27 July 2021 by the Committee for Combating Corruption and Investigating Important Crimes on a warrant under Revolutionary Command Council Decision 160 of 1983 on bribery; the committee said he was involved in tampering with ration card items and took bribes while in office. No court outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026.	19 October 2026
Four former directors general of the State Company for Foodstuff Trading summoned in July 2023 (not named) أربعة مديرين عامين سابقين للشركة العامة لتجارة المواد الغذائية استُقدموا في تموز 2023 (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم)	Former directors general who ran the State Company for Foodstuff Trading in turn	Under investigation	On 28 July 2023 the Integrity Commission said the Basra integrity investigation judge had summoned four directors general who had run the company in turn, under Article 340, over spoiled tea in the company's Basra stores, and that they had been surcharged IQD 108,739,642,000 under the Surcharge Law No. 31 of 2015, to be paid in equal shares. The Commission said the amount covers spoiled tea in all provinces and attributed it to their neglect and failure to act against defaulting companies.	19 October 2026

Sources

These are the documents on which this case rests. Each quote is given in the language of the document.

Alsumaria News6 September 2012Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة البرلمانية تحمل صفاء الدين الصافي مسؤولية تسريب آلاف الأطنان من الشاي التالف للأسواق
اللجنة تمتلك كتابا صدر من وزارة التجارة عام 2009 يتضمن وجود 258 ألف طن من الشاي المنتهي الصلاحية
Original address
Alsumaria News27 July 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
بسبب شبهات فساد.. القبض على مدير عام الشركة العامة لتجارة المواد الغذائية
تم القبض على المتهم قاسم حمود منصور مدير عام الشركة العامة لتجارة المواد الغذائية
Original address
Alsumaria News27 July 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
لجنة مكافحة الفساد: "قاسم حمود" متورط بالتلاعب بمفردات البطاقة التموينية
مدير عام الشركة العامة لتجارة المواد الغذائية متورط بالتلاعب بمفردات البطاقة التموينية وتلقى رشاوى خلال اشغاله المنصب
Original address
Shafaq News3 August 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
السجن سبع سنوات لمسؤول حكومي تلاعب في نوعيَّات الشاي المجهزة للعراقيين
تمَّ التلاعب في العقد الذي تمَّ إبرامه مع إحدى شركات تجهيز مادة الشاي لوزارة التجارة، كون كتاب عدم المُمانعة صدر بعد مرور تسعة أشهرٍ
Original address
Alsumaria News22 November 2022Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
السجن 7 سنواتٍ لمدير عام بوزارة التجارة أضرَّ بالمال العام
أصدرت حكماً غيابياً بسجن المدير العام للشركة العامَّة لتجارة المواد الغذائيَّة سابقاً سبع سنوات؛ على خلفيَّة تعاقده لتجهيز (2500) طنٍّ من مادة الشاي
Original address
Alsumaria News27 November 2022Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تعلن صدور أمر قبض وتفتيش بحق مدير عام بوزارة التجارة
محكمة تحقيق الكرخ الثانية أصدرت أمر قبضٍ وتفتيشٍ بحقِّ المدير العام للشركة العامَّة لتجارة المواد الغذائيَّة سابقاً؛ على إثر الكشف عن وجود تضخُّمٍ في أمواله
Original address
Baghdad Today30 April 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
الـنزاهة تضبط كميات كبيرة من الشاي التالف بمخازن حكومية في البصرة
ضبط أوليَّات (1,246) طناً من مادة الشاي التالف في مخازن الشركة العامَّة لتجارة المواد الغذائيَّة
Original address
964 Network28 July 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
استقدام 4 مدراء سابقين في وزارة التجارة تسببوا بهدر 109 مليارات دينار
أصدر قاضي محكمة التحقيق المُختصَّة بالنظر بقضايا النزاهة في البصرة أمر استقدامٍ بحق (4) مديرين عامين تعاقبوا على إدارة الشركة العامَّة لتجارة المواد الغذائيَّة
Original address
Baghdad Today28 July 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
استقدام 4 مدراء عامين في وزارة التجارة لإضرارهم بالمال العام
تمَّ تضمين المُتَّهمين مبلغ (108,739,642,000) مليار دينار، تُسدَّدُ دفعة واحدة بالتساوي بينهم عن قيمة الشاي التالف
Original address
Alsumaria News25 November 2011Press reportTier D
كتلة مستقلون ترحب بقرار إسقاط تهم الفساد عن وزير التجارة السابق بقضية صفقة الزيوت
رحبت كتلة مستقلون النيابية بقرار إسقاط تهمة الفساد في قضية الزيوت عن وزير التجارة السابق بالوكالة صفاء الدين الصافي
Original address