Former Transport Minister Kadhim Finjan al-Hamami: in absentia sentence over the lease of 67,000 square metres of Ports Company land at Maqal port, and a warrant over the new ports building (from 2019 to 2023)
On 4 November 2019 the Federal Integrity Commission said a court had summoned the former Minister of Transport under Article 340 of the Penal Code over violations in a contract between the General Company for Ports of Iraq and a private company to rent land behind Maqal port in Basra. In May 2020 Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed published an investigation record which, it said, referred Kadhim Finjan al-Hamami to the Commission over about USD 30 million in waste: a 67,000 square metre plot behind berth 14 had been given by direct award to Al-Mansour United Company for a science and housing complex, at an annual rent of IQD 60.5 million. On 15 February 2023 the Commission announced an arrest warrant from the investigating judge of the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court for handing the Ports Company's new building to Basra governorate without a contract. On 9 March 2023 it said the same court had sentenced the former minister in absentia to two years' rigorous imprisonment under Article 331 over the Maqal lease; a Commission source named him to Shafaq News.
- Period
- From 2018 to March 2023
- Sector
- Tax, customs and portsPort land leases and Ports Company property (Ministry of Transport)
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Direct award of a long lease of port land, next to a berth, to a local company without the required approvals, and transfer of a new Ports Company building to the governorate without a contract, according to the Integrity Commission and the investigation record reported by Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed.
What happened
Two years' rigorous imprisonment in absentia under Article 331, with an arrest warrant (announced 9 March 2023), and a separate arrest warrant over the ports building (15 February 2023). No arrest or return was reported as of 19 October 2026.
Open questions
- Outcome of the warrant over the new ports building.
- Whether the lease was cancelled and the land returned to the Ports Company.
- Whether the 2018 Integrity Commission findings on berth contracts, reported by The National, led to a separate case.
- Status of the private university planned on the land.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kadhim Finjan Hussein (Kadhim Finjan al-Hamami) كاظم فنجان حسين (كاظم فنجان الحمامي) | Former Minister of Transport; the Integrity Commission said he concluded, for the General Company for Ports of Iraq, the lease of a 67,000 square metre plot at Maqal port | Convicted (reported) | Summoned under Article 340 over the Maqal land contract (Integrity Commission, 4 November 2019). An arrest warrant with a travel ban was issued by the investigating judge of the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court over handing the new Ports Company building to Basra governorate without a contract (15 February 2023). On 9 March 2023 the Commission said that court had sentenced him in absentia to two years' rigorous imprisonment under Article 331 over the Maqal lease, with an arrest warrant; a Commission source named him to Shafaq News. No arrest or return was reported as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Al-Mansour United Company شركة المنصور المتحدة | Local company that leased the 67,000 square metre plot behind berth 14 at Maqal port for a science and housing complex, according to Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed | Accused in credible reporting | Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed reported in May 2020 that an investigation record found the company had received the lease by direct award, was not specialised in such projects, had presented an uncertified cheque of IQD 20 billion against a capital of IQD 2 billion, and had failed to complete the project. In December 2020 the newspaper reported a parliamentary sub-committee letter asking that the founding of a university on the land be halted, which named its director as Mansour Naeem Zayed. The Integrity Commission statements do not name the company. Not charged as far as known as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Alsumaria News4 November 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة: صدور أمري استقدام بحق وزير النقل ومحافظ البصرة السابقين
Original addressعلى خلفيَّة ارتكاب مخالفاتٍ في العقد المُبرم بين الشركة العامَّة للموانئ وإحدى الشركات الأهليَّة المُتضمِّن استئجار قطعة أرضٍ خلف ميناء المعقل
- Shafaq News15 February 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
صدور أمر قبض وتحر بحق وزير النقل الأسبق لارتكابه عمداً ما يخالف واجبات وظيفته
Original addressعلى خلفيَّة تسليم بناية شركة الموانئ العراقيَّة الجديدة إلى محافظة البصرة، لافتة إلى أن المحافظة شغلت البناية دون وجود عقد
- 964media15 February 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
أمر قبض بحق “كاظم فنجان”.. سلم بناية الموانئ إلى محافظة البصرة من دون عقد
Original addressأمر قبض بحق “كاظم فنجان”.. سلم بناية الموانئ إلى محافظة البصرة من دون عقد
- Shafaq News9 March 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
الحبس الشديد لوزير النقل الأسبق كاظم فنجان الحمامي
Original addressقرار حكم غيابياً يقضي بالحبس الشديد لمُدَّة سنتين على وزير النقل الأسبق ... الوزير المعني بالحكم، هو كاظم فنجان الحمامي
- Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed17 May 2020Press reportTier D
بالوثائق: مدير مكتب العبادي يحيل للنزاهة ملف تورط فنجان بهدر 30 مليون دولار
Original addressعبر إحالة مباشرة من الوزير الأسبق الى شركة المنصور المتحدة (المحلية)، حيث فشلت الشركة في إكمال المشروع
- Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed12 December 2020Press reportTier D
بعد شبهات فساد كشفتها “العالم الجديد”.. طلب نيابي بإيقاف تأسيس “جامعة المعقل” (وثيقة)
Original addressلوجود شبهات مرتكبة من قبل منصور نعيم زايد، مدير شركة المنصور المتحدة المحلية، تبدأ باستبدال قطعة الارض في ميناء المعقل خلف رصيف 14
- The National10 March 2023Press reportTier D
Former Iraqi transport minister sentenced on corruption charges
Original addressThe commission said he signed a contract with a private company, on behalf of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, to rent a 67,000-square-metre plot of land for the construction of “science complex”
Related cases
- Former ministers, governors and officials sentenced, from 2024 to 2026 (Integrity Commission statements)
- General Company for Ports of Iraq: former director general jailed over a joint operation contract for multi-purpose berths and a food industries complex at North Umm Qasr (2019)
- General Company for Ports of Iraq under Farhan al-Fartousi: extra port fees referred to the Integrity Commission (2023), a parliamentary inquiry (2024) and the director general's suspension and retirement (2026)