Umm Qasr port: bribery and clearance cases against crossing, customs and port officials, including a six year sentence for the North Umm Qasr port director (from 2019 to 2025)
Statements of the Integrity Commission and the Border Ports Commission describe a run of cases at Umm Qasr, Iraq's main port. In August 2019 three Ports Company employees were caught taking bribes at North Umm Qasr. On 12 June 2021 the Commission arrested the director of the North Umm Qasr crossing and the head of the committee matching customs transactions and exemptions, both brigadiers, after finding money in their offices; AFP put the cost of bribes to waive duties at USD 6.3 billion a year. On 4 July 2021 the Basra Criminal Court sentenced the North Umm Qasr port director to six years and an IQD 5 million fine for taking bribes from customs clearance brokers, and the Court of Cassation upheld it (announced 16 March 2022). In April 2023 the director of the North Umm Qasr customs centre and two inspectors were arrested after 46 containers holding 68 cars passed as household goods. In May 2023 the Commission said customs staff issued receipts for goods that never entered Iraq to support companies buying dollars from the Central Bank. Further arrests followed in August 2023 and September 2025.
- Period
- From August 2019 to September 2025
- Sector
- Tax, customs and portsPort clearance and customs at Umm Qasr (Border Ports Commission, customs, Ports Company)
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Bribes to pass trucks and containers, false inspection records, customs receipts for goods that never arrived, used to justify dollar purchases, and paid passes to release containers, according to the Integrity Commission.
What happened
One six year prison sentence, upheld on appeal (2021 to 2022); other officials arrested and detained pending investigation (2019 to 2025), with no trial outcomes found as of 19 October 2026.
Open questions
- Names of the officials.
- Outcomes of the cases against the matching committee head, the customs centre director and inspectors, and the berth 20 station manager.
- Which companies received receipts for goods that never entered Iraq, and how much foreign currency they bought.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director of the North Umm Qasr port and crossing, a brigadier, sentenced in July 2021 (unnamed) مدير ميناء ومنفذ أم قصر الشمالي برتبة عميد المحكوم في تموز 2021 (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director of North Umm Qasr port and of the terminal at berth 27; described in June 2021 as director of the North Umm Qasr crossing | Convicted (reported) | Arrested on 12 June 2021 after money was found in his office (Integrity Commission). On 4 July 2021 the Basra Criminal Court sentenced him in person to six years and an IQD 5 million fine under RCC Resolution 160 of 1983 for taking bribes from customs clearance brokers to release goods improperly; the Federal Court of Cassation upheld the sentence (announced 16 March 2022). | 19 October 2026 |
| Head of the committee matching customs transactions and exemptions at North Umm Qasr, a brigadier (unnamed) رئيس لجنة المطابقة لتدقيق المعاملات الكمركية والإعفاء في أم قصر الشمالي برتبة عميد (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Head of the matching committee between the Border Ports Commission and customs, North Umm Qasr | Arrested | Arrested on 12 June 2021 and detained by the investigating judge after money was found hidden in a waste basket in his office, according to the Integrity Commission; he denied knowing its source. No outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Director of the North Umm Qasr customs centre and two members of its inspection committee (unnamed) مدير كمرك أم قصر الشمالي واثنان من أعضاء لجنة الكشف (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Customs centre director and inspectors, North Umm Qasr | Arrested | Arrested on 27 April 2023 and detained pending investigation, accused by the Integrity Commission of colluding to pass 46 containers holding 68 cars below the permitted model year, declared as household goods although the scanner operator had warned them; USD 33,000 and IQD 3.8 million were found in the inspection committee head's flat. No outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Three employees of the North Umm Qasr customs centre accused of issuing receipts for goods that never entered Iraq (unnamed) ثلاثة موظفين في مركز كمرك أم قصر الشمالي متهمون بقطع وصولات لبضائع لم تدخل العراق (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Customs centre employees, North Umm Qasr | Arrested | Caught in May 2023, according to the Integrity Commission, which said they issued customs receipts for goods that never entered Iraq, for companies run by a manager in agreement with them, to make the Central Bank believe that companies buying dollars had imported goods. No outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Manager of a station at berth 20 of Umm Qasr port and his assistant, General Company for Ports of Iraq (unnamed) مدير إحدى المحطات في الرصيف 20 بميناء أم قصر ومعاونه في الشركة العامة لموانئ العراق (لم يُذكر اسماهما) | Station manager and assistant, berth 20, Umm Qasr | Arrested | Caught in the act on 14 August 2023 receiving an agreed sum for a pass to release 24 containers, and detained under Article 307 of the Penal Code by the Basra integrity investigating judge, according to the Integrity Commission. No outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Three employees of the General Company for Ports of Iraq caught taking bribes at North Umm Qasr in August 2019 (unnamed) ثلاثة موظفين في الشركة العامة لموانئ العراق ضُبطوا متلبسين بالرشوة في أم قصر الشمالي في آب 2019 (لم تُذكر أسماؤهم) | Ports Company employees, North Umm Qasr | Arrested | Caught in the act taking bribes in a joint operation of the Border Ports Commission and the Integrity Commission's Basra office, on a decision of the Basra investigating judge (Border Ports Commission, 15 August 2019). No outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Employee of the customs affairs section at Umm Qasr Middle port caught in September 2025 (unnamed) موظف في قسم الأمور الكمركية في ميناء أم قصر الأوسط ضُبط في أيلول 2025 (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Customs affairs employee, Umm Qasr Middle port | Arrested | Caught receiving money from people completing their transactions, on the order of the Basra integrity investigating judge (Integrity Commission, 19 September 2025). No outcome is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Alsumaria News15 August 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
المنافذ الحدودية تعلن ضبط ثلاثة موظفين متلبسين بـ"الرشوة" في ميناء أم قصر
Original addressتم ضبط ثلاثة موظفين متلبسين بالرشوة في منفذ ميناء ام قصر الشمالي في محافظة البصرة
- Shafaq News12 June 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
ضبط مدير منفذ حدودي يحمل رتبة عميد بتهمة الرشوة جنوبي العراق
Original addressضبط مدير منفذ أم قصر الشمالي الذي يحمل رتبة عميد بتهمة تلقّي رشوة؛ استناداً إلى أحكام القرار (160لسنة 1983)
- Alsumaria News16 March 2022Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
المصادقة على قرار سجن مدير ميناء أم قصر الشمالي
Original addressمحكمة جنايات البصرة أصدرت في 4/7/2021 حكماً حضورياً بالسجن لمُدَّة ست سنواتٍ وغرامة ماليَّة قدرها خمسة ملايين دينار بحق المدان
- Baghdad Today27 April 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تضبط مدير كمرك أم قصر الشمالي واثنين من أعضاء لجنة الكشف
Original addressضبط مدير كمرك ام قصر الشمالي واثنين من أعضاء لجنة الكشف؛ بتهمة التواطؤ لتمرير مواد ممنوع استيرادها
- Baghdad Today3 May 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تضبط 3 متهمين في مركز كمرك أم قصر الشمالي ومنفذ الشلامجة
Original addressقيامهم بقطع وصولات قطع بضائع لم تدخل إلى العراق؛ لغرض إيهام البنك المركزي بقيام تلك الشركات التي تشتري الدولار من البنك باستيراد بضائع
- Baghdad Today14 August 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تطيح بمدير إحدى المحطات في ميناء أم قصر متلبساً بالرشوة
Original addressقام بنصب كمينٍ محكمٍ لمُدير إحدى المحطات في رصيف رقم (20)
- 964media19 September 2025Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تضبط موظفاً في ميناء أم قصر متلبساً بتسلم رشى من المراجعين
Original addressضبط مُوظَّفٍ في ميناءِ أم قصر الأوسط يعملُ في قسم الأمور الكُمركيّة، وذلك على خلفيَّة تسلُّمهِ مبالغَ ماليَّة
- Arab News (AFP)12 June 2021Press reportTier D
Iraq arrests two generals on suspicion of bribery at key port
Original addressIraq announced Saturday it has arrested two generals on suspicion of taking bribes to waive customs duties, a practice estimated to cost the state $6.3 billion a year in lost revenues.
Related cases
- Customs and border crossings: capture of customs revenue by officials, parties and armed groups (from 2003 to 2026)
- Parliamentary finance committee (Ahmad Chalabi) dossier: Al-Huda Bank and forged import documents in the dollar auction
- 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)
- 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)