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Maysan Oil Company: duplicated payment documents, embezzlement arrests, an audit finding and a six-year sentence (from 2019 to 2026)

The Federal Integrity Commission has announced several embezzlement cases in the finance department of the state-owned Maysan Oil Company. In March 2022 it detained finance staff over more than IQD 1.32 billion taken through repeated salary and travel payments, seized IQD 479,950,000 taken by forged payments, and detained members of a committee over IQD 42 million of employee rewards. In November 2022 it said a former head of individuals' accounts and of the payments division had issued a fictitious reward document for IQD 1.9 billion and taken about half; the company said the case dated from 2019 and the employee had fled. The Federal Board of Supreme Audit reported manipulation of about IQD 3.5 billion in the company's spending in November 2022. In January 2024 the commission detained eight accountants and auditors and arrested the fugitive head of payments in Baghdad over 26 duplicated documents worth IQD 8,611,898,750. In September 2024 the Maysan Felony Court sentenced the payments official to six years and an intermediary who took IQD 700 million to block an audit to four years. In February 2026 another section head was held over IQD 162 million.

Period
From 2019 to February 2026
Sector
Oil and gasUpstream company finance department (Maysan Oil Company)
Kind of case
Criminal prosecution
Jurisdiction
Federal Iraq

How the money moved

Duplicated and fictitious payment documents (salaries, travel, operational advances, rewards and Energy Police salaries) booked to the wrong accounts, and a payment to an intermediary to avoid audit, according to the Integrity Commission.

What happened

Six-year and four-year sentences in person (September 2024); the other cases were at the investigation stage when last reported.

Open questions

  • Court outcomes for the staff detained in 2022 and 2024.
  • Whether the IQD 3.5 billion audit finding is the same matter as the commission's cases.
  • Whether the company recovered the sums through the civil courts, as the court allowed.

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
NameRole in the caseLegal statusDetailAs of
Former head of individuals' accounts and of the payments division, Maysan Oil Company (name not given)
مدير قسم حسابات الأفراد ومسؤول شعبة الدفعيات السابق في شركة نفط ميسان (لم يُذكر اسمه)
Finance department official, Maysan Oil CompanyConvicted (reported)Sentenced in person by the Maysan Felony Court, First Panel, to six years for embezzling employee rewards granted in 2017, according to the Integrity Commission (18 September 2024). The commission said he was the fugitive head of payments arrested in January 2024 over 26 duplicated documents worth IQD 8.61bn. Name not given; judgment not seen.19 October 2026
Intermediary who received IQD 700 million from the payments official (name not given)
الوسيط الذي تسلم 700 مليون دينار من مسؤول الدفعيات (لم يُذكر اسمه)
Intermediary in the Maysan Oil Company payments caseConvicted (reported)Sentenced in person to four years' strict imprisonment and a fine of IQD 2 million for receiving IQD 700 million in instalments in return for blocking a financial audit of the payments official's documents, according to the Integrity Commission (18 September 2024). Name not given.19 October 2026
Finance department staff of the Maysan Oil Company detained in 2022 and 2024 (names not given)
موظفون في الهيئة المالية لشركة نفط ميسان أوقفوا في 2022 و2024 (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم)
Head of individuals' accounts, document preparers, auditor and staff (2022); members of an employee-reward committee (2022); eight accountants and auditors (2024)ArrestedDetained on investigating judges' orders under articles 315 and 316 of the Penal Code over duplicated salary, travel and advance payments and an embezzled employee reward, according to the Integrity Commission. Outcomes are not on record.19 October 2026
Head of a section in the individuals' accounts department, Maysan Oil Company (name not given)
مسؤول إحدى الشعب في قسم حسابات الأفراد بشركة نفط ميسان (لم يُذكر اسمه)
Section head, Maysan Oil CompanyArrestedHeld in February 2026 over IQD 162,020,000 of funds for staff travel to Egypt booked to the wrong accounts, according to the Integrity Commission. Outcome is not on record.19 October 2026

Sources

These are the documents on which this case rests. Each quote is given in the language of the document.
  1. Alsumaria News7 March 2022Integrity Commission statementTier B

    النزاهة تكشف اختلاساً بقرابة 1.5 مليار في شركة نفط ميسان

    على خلفيَّة اختلاس مبالغ ماليَّةٍ تجاوزت(1,320,000,000) مليار دينار عبر تكرار صرف مستندات رواتب وإيفاداتٍ لمُوظَّفي الشركة
    Original address
  2. Alsumaria News14 March 2022Integrity Commission statementTier B

    النزاهـة تضبط اختلاس نصف مليار دينـار في شركة نفـط ميسان

    أعضاء اللجنة المُكلَّفة بتسلُّم مُكافأةٍ لمُوظَّفي هيئة حقول نفط ميسـان، مُؤكِّدةً إقدامهم على اختلاس مبلغ المكافأة البالغ (42,000,000) مليون دينار
    Original address
  3. Shafaq News9 November 2022Integrity Commission statementTier B

    نفط ميسان ترد على هيئة النزاهة بعد كشفها عن اختلاس في الشركة

    مدير قسم حسابات الأفراد ومسؤول شعبة الدفعيات في شركة نفط ميسان السابق، على اختلاس مبلغٍ يناهز مليار دينارٍ، مُبيِّنةً قيام المُتَّهم بتنظيم مستند صرف مكافآت (وهميٍّ) لمُنتسبي الشركة بمبلغ ملياراً و900 مليون دينار
    Original address
  4. Alsumaria News15 November 2022Audit reportTier B

    الرقابة المالية يكشف تلاعباً بالمليارات في مصروفات شركة نفط ميسان

    تم اكتشاف وجود تلاعب كبير بمبلغ بحدود 3,5 مليار دينار عراقي في مصروفات شركة نفط ميسان
    Original address
  5. Kurdistan24 (Arabic)20 January 2024Integrity Commission statementTier B

    النزاهة الاتحادية توقِف 8 مسؤولين في نفط ميسان بتهمة الاختلاس

    وقّعوا على مستندات الصرف المُكرَّرة المُتضمّنة صرف سلفٍ تشغيليَّةٍ مُؤقّتةٍ وسلفٍ للإيفادات الخارجيَّة، ورواتب مُديريَّة شرطة الطاقة تُقدَّرُ بـ (8,611,898,750) دينار
    Original address
  6. Alsumaria News25 January 2024Integrity Commission statementTier B

    القبض على مسؤول في شركة نفط ميسان بتهمة اختلاس 8 مليارات دينار

    مُذكَّرة القبض القضائيَّة الصادرة قبل عامين بحقِّ المُتَّهم الهارب مدير قسم الدفعيَّات في الهيئة الماليَّة لشركة نفط ميسان، في وسط العاصمة بغداد
    Original address
  7. 964 Media (English)25 January 2024Integrity Commission statementTier B

    Maysan oil company official arrested on embezzlement charges

    The accused repeated the disbursement of 26 documents for the years 2020 and 2021 specifically for operational advances, rewards, external missions, and Energy Police personnel salaries
    Original address
  8. Shafaq News18 September 2024Integrity Commission statementTier B

    السجن لمسؤول سابق في شركة نفط ميسان بقضية اختلاس والحبس الشديد للوسيط

    محكمة جنايات ميسان، الهيئة الأولى أصدرت قرار حكمٍ وجاهياً بسجن مسؤول شعبة الدفعيات في شركة نفط ميسان لمدة ست سنواتٍ؛ استناداً إلى أحكام المادة (316) من قانون العقوبات
    Original address
  9. Kurdistan24 (Arabic)19 February 2026Integrity Commission statementTier B

    اختلس (162) مليون دينار.. النزاهة الاتحادية تعلن ضبط مسؤول في شركة نفط ميسان

    من ضبط مسؤول إحدى الشعب في الشركة؛ لإقدامه على اختلاس مبلغ (162,020,000) مئة واثنين وستين مليون دينار من المبالغ المُخصَّصة لإيفاد مُوظَّفين إلى جمهوريَّة مصر العربيَّة
    Original address