Southern Region Customs (Basra): IQD 92 billion of customs trust deposits paid out on forged declarations and powers of attorney (from 2015 to 2016), warrants for six officials (2023) and a cashier's arrest (2025)
On 18 May 2023 the Federal Integrity Commission said its Basra team had uncovered the embezzlement of customs trust deposits for 2015 and 2016 at the Southern Region Customs Directorate, with a loss estimated at IQD 92 billion. According to the Commission, the deposits were released from Rasheed Bank by cheques issued on forged customs declarations and forged powers of attorney; a letter from the North Umm Qasr customs centre claiming that the records had burned during protests proved untrue; and the former head of the Board of Supreme Audit office in Basra had assigned himself alone to audit 315 declarations. The Basra integrity investigating judge issued arrest warrants and travel bans under Article 315 of the Penal Code against the former and earlier directors of the Southern Region Customs, officials of its legal and audit sections, the former Basra audit director and one of the most prominent accused in the tax deposits case. Two were arrested. On 15 May 2025 the Commission arrested a former cashier of the directorate over a shortfall of IQD 1.23 billion in revenue and deposits for 2022 to 2024.
- Period
- From 2015 to May 2025
- Sector
- Tax, customs and portsCustoms trust deposits (General Commission for Customs, Southern Region)
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Release of customs trust deposits, the sums importers lodge pending final assessment, against forged declarations and forged powers of attorney with repeated identity numbers, after an audit check that broke the rule of a three-person team; later, cash shortfalls in a cashier's custody, according to the Integrity Commission.
What happened
Arrest warrants and travel bans against six officials, two of them arrested (May 2023); case papers sent to the Karkh second investigation court; a former cashier arrested in May 2025. No trial outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026.
Open questions
- Names of the six officials and of the tax deposits accused included in the warrants.
- Final amount once the investigation ended.
- Trial outcomes.
- Whether any money was recovered.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former and earlier directors of the Southern Region Customs Directorate (unnamed) مديرا كمرك المنطقة الجنوبية السابق والأسبق (لم يُذكر اسماهما) | Directors of the Southern Region Customs Directorate who, the Integrity Commission said, ordered the release of customs trust deposits | Charged or wanted | Arrest warrants and travel bans under Article 315 of the Penal Code were issued by the Basra integrity investigation court, according to the Integrity Commission's statement of 18 May 2023; the Commission said its team had seized the notices of the amounts released on their orders. Neither was among the two arrested. No later outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Officials of the legal and audit sections of the Southern Region Customs Directorate (unnamed) مسؤولون في القسمين القانوني والتدقيقي في مديرية كمرك المنطقة الجنوبية (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Head of the legal department and his deputy, and the heads of audit and legal sections, Southern Region Customs Directorate | Charged or wanted | Arrest warrants and travel bans under Article 315 (Integrity Commission, 18 May 2023); the deputy head of the legal department was arrested. No later outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Former director of the Board of Supreme Audit office in Basra (unnamed) مدير ديوان الرقابة المالية السابق في البصرة (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Former head of the Board of Supreme Audit office in Basra who, the Integrity Commission said, assigned himself alone to audit 315 customs declarations | Arrested | Arrested on a warrant under Article 315 issued by the Basra integrity investigation court (Integrity Commission, 18 May 2023). The Commission said the correct practice required a team of at least three auditors. No later outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Former cashier of the Southern Region Customs Directorate arrested in May 2025 (unnamed) أمين صندوق سابق في مديرية كمرك المنطقة الجنوبية قُبض عليه في أيار 2025 (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Former cashier, Southern Region Customs Directorate | Arrested | Arrested on a judicial order after an audit committee found a shortfall of IQD 1,229,501,000 in the revenue and deposits of five southern customs centres for 2022 to 2024, which the Integrity Commission said he had taken (statement of 15 May 2025). No later outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Baghdad Today18 May 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تكشف عملية كبيرة لسرقة الأمانات والودائع الكمركية في البصرة
Original addressتم ضبط عمليَّة اختلاس كبيرة للأمانات والودائع الگمرگيَّـة في محافظة البصرة للعامين (2015 و 2016) تُقدَّرُ قيمة الهدر في المال العام فيها بمبالغ (92) مليار ديـنار عـراقي
- Shafaq News18 May 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
أوامر قبضٍ ومنع سفر بحقّ 6 من مسؤولي الگمارك والرقابة الماليَّة في البصرة
Original addressمدير گمرك المنطقة الجنوبيَّة السابق والأسبق ومدير القسم القانوني ومعاونه، ومديري التدقيق والقسم القانوني فيه، فضلاً عن مدير ديوان الرقابة الماليَّة السابق في المحافظة
- Alsumaria News15 May 2025Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة توقع بمتهم اختلس ملياراً و٢٢٩ مليون دينار من إيرادات وأمانات كمارك البصرة
Original addressوجود نقصٍ بأموال وإيرادات أمانات تلك الكمارك يُقدَّر بـ (1.229.501.000) مليار دينار