Kurdistan Region border crossings: customs revenue said to be lost at official crossings and at more than 20 unofficial crossings run by party-linked bodies (from 2019 to 2026)
Baghdad recognises four of the Region's land crossings (Ibrahim Khalil, Haji Omaran, Bashmakh and Parwez Khan); the KRG recognises others. In December 2019 the head of the Gorran bloc in the Kurdistan Parliament said irregularities of USD 40 million had been found at the crossings and that the Council of Ministers had ordered an investigative committee and a review of all crossing contracts; the bloc also filed a complaint over a permit, approved by former Finance Minister Rebaz Hamlan, to bring in 300,000 cartons of banned eggs. In June 2021 Kurdistan MP Omar Golpi said 13 companies working at the crossings kept about IQD 190 billion a month from the treasury. In February 2025 a member of the federal Parliament's integrity committee said a Council of Ministers document listed more than 20 unofficial crossings used for smuggling and that the file had gone to the Public Prosecution and the federal Integrity Commission. A NIRIJ investigation (December 2025) described about 20 unrecognised crossings run by bodies tied to the two ruling parties. The KRG Finance Ministry rejected federal claims in January 2026; in May 2026 both sides agreed to apply the ASYCUDA customs system.
- Period
- From December 2019 to May 2026
- Sector
- Kurdistan RegionBorder crossings and customs revenue
- Kind of case
- Structural leakage
- Jurisdiction
- Kurdistan Region; Federal Iraq
How the money moved, according to the sources
Goods brought in through unofficial or unrecognised crossings, or through official crossings at reduced fees, with payments collected by party-linked bodies or private companies instead of the Finance Ministry; permits for banned goods.
What happened
No court ruling and no published audit are known. The findings of the 2019 committee were not published, and the 2025 federal referral has no known result. A joint inventory of crossings and the ASYCUDA customs system were agreed in May 2026.
Open questions
- What the KRG Council of Ministers' 2019 committee found.
- Which companies run customs services at the crossings and who owns them.
- What the federal Board of Supreme Audit's field audit of the Region's crossings found.
- Whether the egg import complaint against Rebaz Hamlan was investigated.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebaz Hamlan ريباز حملان | Former KRG Minister of Finance and Economy; approved the import of 300,000 cartons of table eggs then banned in Iraq | Accused by an official body | On 18 December 2019 the Gorran bloc in the Kurdistan Parliament said it had filed a legal complaint through the Integrity Commission and the Public Prosecution over his approval, as finance minister, for a director general to bring in 300,000 cartons of eggs banned because of bird flu, said to be bound for Syria but sold in the Region's markets without transit tax. No outcome of the complaint is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Director general who obtained the egg import permit (unnamed) المدير العام الذي حصل على موافقة إدخال البيض (لم يُذكر اسمه) | KRG director general who obtained the finance minister's approval to bring in banned eggs | Accused by an official body | Named only by post in the Gorran bloc's legal complaint of December 2019, filed through the Integrity Commission and the Public Prosecution, over the import of 300,000 cartons of banned eggs. No outcome is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Companies operating customs services at the Region's crossings (13, unnamed) الشركات العاملة في الكمارك في منافذ الإقليم (13 شركة لم تُذكر أسماؤها) | Private companies said to run customs services at all the Region's crossings without government oversight | Accused by an official body | Kurdistan Parliament member Omar Golpi said on 13 June 2021 that 13 companies controlled by influential parties worked at the Region's crossings without government monitoring and kept about IQD 190 billion a month from the treasury. The companies were not named and no official action against them is known. | 19 October 2026 |
| Operators of more than 20 unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan Region (unnamed) الجهات التي تدير أكثر من 20 منفذاً غير رسمي في إقليم كوردستان (لم تُذكر أسماؤها) | Bodies, said to be tied to the two ruling parties, that run unrecognised crossings used to bring in goods outside customs | Under investigation | A member of the federal Parliament's integrity committee said on 24 February 2025 that a federal Council of Ministers document listed more than 20 unofficial crossings in the Region used to smuggle oil, cigarettes and drugs, and that the file had been referred to the Public Prosecution and the federal Integrity Commission. NIRIJ reported in December 2025 that about 20 unrecognised crossings were run by bodies tied to the two ruling parties. The KRG says its crossings are officially recognised. No result is known. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Shafaq News18 December 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
حكومة كوردستان تحقق بفساد يصل لـ40 مليون دولار بالمنافذ الحدودية للإقليم
Original addressومجموع الفساد المالي الذي تم رصده في تلك المنافذ يصل الى 40 مليون دولار ... كاشفا ان مجلس وزراء الاقليم امر بتشكيل لجنة تحقيقية وقرر اجراء مراجعة لجميع العقود في تلك المنافذ
- Shafaq News13 June 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
نائب في برلمان كوردستان يكشف حجم الفساد في منافذ الإقليم
Original addressتم كشف ارقام كبيرة بالهدر وصلت الى 190 مليار دينار شهريا من قبل تلك الشركات ولا تصل الى خزينة الدولة
- Alsumaria News24 February 2025Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة النيابية تكشف عدد المنافذ غير الرسمية في كوردستان.. تهريب علني بلا محاسبة
Original addressمجلس الوزراء أرسل وثيقة الى لجنة النزاهة تتضمن وجود أكثر من 20 منفذا غير رسمي في اقليم كردستان يستخدم لتهريب النفط والسجائر والمخدرات
- Kurdistan2415 January 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
مالية كوردستان ترد بقوة على رئيس هيئة المنافذ الاتحادية: اتهاماتكم "تضليل" وفساد منافذكم هو السبب
Original addressهي منافذ معترف بها رسمياً من قبل حكومة الإقليم ودول الجوار (تركيا وإيران)
- 964 Media15 January 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
كوردستان ترد على الوائلي: المنافذ رسمية وانخفاض الإيرادات سببه فسادكم
Original addressوكان رئيس هيئة المنافذ عمر الوائلي صرح خلال جلسة البرلمان بأن هناك 6 منافذ غير رسمية في إقليم كردستان وهي سبب رئيسي في انخفاض إيرادات الحكومة الاتحادية
- 964 Media25 May 2026Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
الوائلي يفتح ملفات المنافذ: طائرة متروكة وتهريب وأسيكودا في الإقليم قريباً
Original addressكاشفاً عن توقيع محضر اتفاق بين الطرفين لتطبيق نظام أسيكودا في جميع محافظات العراق بما فيها محافظات الإقليم
- Shafaq News29 May 2023Press reportTier D
تقرير: 100 مليون دولار شهرياً حجم الإهدار والفساد في منافذ اقليم كوردستان
Original addressحجم الإهدار والفساد في المنافذ الحدودية بإقليم كوردستان يُقدر بـ100 مليون دولار شهرياً
- NIRIJ (Network of Iraqi Reporters for Investigative Journalism)27 December 2025Press reportTier D
عمليات غير قانونية في منافذ كوردستان الحدودية تكبد الاقليم خسائر بملايين الدولارات وأحزاب نافذة تجني الأرباح
Original addressهناك 20 معبرا ثانويا غير رسمي وغير معترف بها من قبل حكومة الإقليم أو الحكومة الاتحادية، وتديرها جهات تابعة للحزبين الحاكمين في كردستان