Interior Ministry e-passport and e-visa contract with Ufuq al-Samaa (contract No. 5 of 2021): MPs' accusations, suspended officers and a parliamentary review (from 2021 to 2026)

Under contract No. 5 of 2021 an Interior Ministry fund engaged the Ufuq al-Samaa company for 20 years to provide electronic passports, electronic visas and electronic gates, relying on Cabinet decision No. 178 of 2021. In January 2022 Al-Aalem al-Jadeed reported that the deal had been held back over suspicions about the company and its manager. In June 2022 MP Alia Nassif said the contract had been signed in secret and put the gap between its real and stated value at USD 70 million. In July 2023 a source told Shafaq News that Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari had suspended three officers, including the director of passports, and ordered an investigative council. In August 2023 MP Hussein al-Saabri called the contract a second 'heist of the century', said it lacked a legal basis and projected the company's revenue at more than USD 4.5 billion. In November 2023 Parliament's integrity committee identified legal violations in the project. The ministry said in November 2024 that no corruption had been recorded in issuing e-passports. In July 2026 MP Haidar al-Mutairi said the Board of Supreme Audit regarded the contract as incorrect and that the Integrity Commission had been asked to act.