Zubair oilfield pipeline-tapping ring and arrest of oil-protection police generals (Basra, 2022)
In November 2022 the new government announced the dismantling of a network that punctured crude pipelines in the Zubair field in Basra and removed oil by tanker trucks, some 75 million litres a month according to the National Security Service, with the arrest of nine senior oil-protection (energy) police officers including five generals. Names, charges and verdicts were not officially published.
- Period
- From 2022 to January 2023
- Sector
- Oil and gasCrude theft from pipelines
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Illegal taps on crude pipelines, with protection-force officers allegedly complicit, and trucking of stolen crude to buyers.
What happened
Two convictions (27 August 2023, 15 years each); the Energy Police director was released under the general amnesty on 9 April 2025. Other officers' outcomes unknown. Further pipeline-tapping verdicts (2019, 2025) are listed in the oil theft cases dataset.
Open questions
- Names and verdicts; NSS original statement.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ziad Salman Hassoun Mohsen al-Nadawi زياد سلمان حسون محسن النداوي | Co-accused | Convicted (reported) | Sentenced 27 August 2023 to 15 years (same judgment). | 25 September 2026 |
| Other oil-protection police officers (incl. brigadiers) ضباط آخرون في شرطة الطاقة | Officers | Arrested | 25 September 2026 | |
| Maj. Gen. Ghanem Mohammed Jaafar Hassan al-Husseini اللواء غانم محمد جعفر حسن الحسيني | Director-General of the Energy (Oil) Police | Pardoned or amnestied | Arrested November 2022; sentenced 27 August 2023 by the Basra Court of Appeal (criminal) to 15 years for oil smuggling (Anti-Terrorism Law art. 4/1 according to court document); released 9 April 2025 under the General Amnesty Law (conviction not quashed). | 25 September 2026 |
Sources
- Kurdistan24 Arabic (quoting National Security Service)2 November 2022Press reportTier D
Officers' cell arrested (November 2022)
Original - S&P Global Commodity Insights (Herman Wang)28 November 2022Press reportTier D
Smuggling weighs on prospects for oil industry in Iraq
Originalthe arrests of nine senior oil-protection force police officers, including five generals
- Baghdad Today (بغداد اليوم)9 April 2025Press reportTier D
Release of former Energy Police director under general amnesty
Originalأصدرت في 27 من آب 2023 حكماً بالسجن 15 سنة بحق مدير شرطة الطاقة السابق غانم الحسيني بتهمة تهريب النفط