State land and investment licences
The first five layers follow the oil money from the well to the citizen. This sixth layer concerns what the state owns: land, factories and concessions, and how they pass into private hands. This happens through three windows. They are the investment commissions, the Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment in the Prime Minister's office, and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. This page sets out what the official lists and published decisions say, and what the courts and the oversight bodies have found.
What a licence gives
An investment licence is more than permission to work. It gives its holder access to state land at a low rent, or at a price far below the market, and it frees the project from taxes and fees for years. For this reason the value of a licence sometimes lies in the land itself and not in the project. The table below sets out the rules as the laws and regulations state them.
| Rule | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Project value above which the Council of Ministers must approve before the licence Investment Law Art. 7/b. In Oct 2020 NIC chair Suha al-Najjar described the NIC's own remit as projects of USD 250m and above (Iraq Business News, 8 Oct 2020). | 250 USD million | mohamah.netghorfa.de |
| Time limit for deciding a licence application Investment Law Art. 7/c; FBSA cites it against Maysan Investment Commission. | 45 days | mohamah.netstorage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| Time for other bodies to answer the single window (silence counts as approval in the 2006 text) Investment Law Art. 20/second (2006 text as reproduced by mohamah.net). | 15 days | mohamah.net |
| Time for government bodies to finish their direct steps after a licence is issued Art. 20/second/c as cited by the NIC guide; Cabinet Secretariat letter 10923 of 11 Apr 2017 as cited by FBSA. | 30 days | ghorfa.destorage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| Tax and fee exemption for a licensed project Art. 15; after the 2015 amendment it runs for each stage of the project; customs are treated separately (Art. 17) and fixed assets are exempt throughout implementation. | 10 years from start of commercial operation (15 if the Iraqi partner holds more than 50 percent) | mohamah.netghorfa.de |
| Maximum lease term of state land, renewable with the licensing body's approval Art. 11/third (2006 text); Art. 10/second/A after the 2015 amendment. | 50 years | mohamah.netghorfa.de |
| Schedule slippage allowed before penalties or withdrawal Art. 14/seventh. | 6 months | mohamah.net |
| Completion required before a developer may transfer part of a project to a secondary developer Art. 10/second/E after the 2015 amendment. | 40 percent | ghorfa.de |
| Completion required before an investor may get concessional loans Art. 9/eighth after the 2015 amendment. | 25 percent | ghorfa.de |
| Time an owning agency has to act on the NIC's land request before the Council of Ministers may transfer the land to the NIC without payment Art. 10/fourth after the 2015 amendment. | 60 days | ghorfa.de[1][2] |
| Annual rent of land and buildings for investment projects, as applied by FBSA Regulation 6 of 2017, Art. 5/second/b (Tikrit dairy case); the contract had used 7 percent of 2 percent. | 2 percent of land value | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| Price of state land for housing inside the basic design (reported) Regulation 6 of 2017 Art. | 2 percent of land value | Not stated |
| Rents under Regulation 7 of 2010 (the NIC guide's version; Regulation 6 of 2017 now covers the same subject): industrial projects in industrial areas Same regulation: electricity and oil projects outside municipal limits 2 percent; services 5 percent; tourism 10 percent state share; commercial 10 percent for three years then 5 percent of land value; strategic agriculture 20, 10 or 1 percent by land type. | 2 percent of the estimated annual lease return | ghorfa.de[1][2] |
| Time to warn a violator under the Industrial Investment Law No. 20 of 1998, and time allowed to remove the violation Art. 13/first as quoted by FBSA; Art. 13/fourth: closure of the project until the violation ends. | 7 days to warn (90 days to remove the violation) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| Time before lease expiry within which the industrial tenant must apply for renewal Clause five of the lease contracts signed by the Minister of Finance under Law 20 of 1998, as quoted by FBSA. | 60 days | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
The three windows
The National Investment Commission and the provincial investment commissions
The Investment Law of 2006 set up the National Investment Commission and a commission in each province. These commissions grant the licence and ask the owning body for the land. In the list of the Baghdad commission, 309 licences stand on land that belongs to a state body, against 61 on private freehold. In the list of the national commission, 36 licences were withdrawn and 48 never had a contract signed.
The Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment
A committee in the Prime Minister's office, chaired by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Its tasks rest on an administrative order, not on a law. It exempted projects from the rule that an investment opportunity must be announced, and it decided how state land would be used. It published neither its minutes nor a list of its members. Of the 80 decisions found in official statements, only 8 name a private beneficiary.
The Ministry of Industry and Minerals and its industrial development directorate
The General Directorate for Industrial Development grants licences to set up industrial projects and issues letters that allocate land. The Industrial Cities Authority licenses the developers of industrial cities. The ministry's state companies sign partnership and rehabilitation contracts with private firms for state factories. The Federal Board of Supreme Audit has examined a number of these contracts and recorded findings on them.
Register of the Ministry of Industry (72 projects and contracts, 41 officials)
Can a licence be had without connections?
A licence by itself is not evidence of wrongdoing. But officials and members of Parliament have described in public a system in which connections decide. In July 2024 Hussein al-Saabari, deputy chairman of Parliament's Investment and Development Committee, said that exemptions were a loophole through which influential people obtained large projects, at a cost to public money (Alsumaria). In the same month the investment consultant Amer al-Jawahiri said that party quotas and favouritism had entered the work of the investment commissions (Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed). In Parliament on 9 July 2026 the Second Deputy Speaker, Farhad al-Atrushi, said that committees formed to ease the investor's work had become a door to corruption. In the same sitting Mohammed Jassim al-Khafaji, a member of Parliament, said that the Supreme Committee had granted dozens of investment licences contrary to the law, by way of exemption (minutes of the sitting, page 40).
At that sitting Parliament voted to remove the chairman of the National Investment Commission, Haider Makkiya, and to refer his files to the Integrity Commission. His predecessor, Suha al-Najjar, had been sentenced in her absence in December 2024 to seven years in prison in a case of unexplained wealth. These reports and the others are listed below with their sources.
As for the lists, the search of public sources has begun for the licensees of 160 of the 768 licences, and it is complete for 43. So far, for 12 licences the licensee has a legal status other than “not charged”, or a published source records a link to a politician, a party, an official or an armed group. Nothing was found on the rest. The owners of many companies cannot be established from public sources. The work continues, and its results are in the register of licences.
In figures
The National Investment Commission and the provincial investment commissions30 figures
| Period | What the figure measures | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 to 2016 | Investment licences granted (statement by the NIC chairman, 17 Oct 2016) Dr Sami al-Araji's figure for 2009 to 2016; the statement does not say whether provincial commissions are included. | 1,336 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2009 to 2016 | Total value of those licences Licensed investment value as stated by the NIC, not money spent. | 90.1 USD billion | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2015 | Investment opportunities announced by the NIC Offers of land or projects; they are not licences. | 940 opportunities | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2016 | Investment opportunities announced by the NIC Offers of land or projects; they are not licences. | 992 opportunities | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2018 | Investment licences granted by the NIC and the provincial commissions outside Kurdistan NIC statement: 88 granted directly by the NIC and 169 by provincial commissions. The provinces listed are Anbar 12, Baghdad 66, Karbala 10, Wasit 26, Muthanna 32, Kirkuk 15 (161 in all), so 8 licences are not itemised. | 257 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2018 | Licences granted directly by the NIC, by sector Trade 21; entertainment 1; telecommunications 1; education 6; services 4; sport 4; agriculture 3; housing 8; tourism 4; health 6; industry 16; electricity 14 (2 power stations, 12 charging). | 88 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2018 | Combined investment value of the 257 licences Four were strategic licences costing more than USD 3bn. | 8 USD billion (more than) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2023 to 2024 | Investment licences granted in the 18 months to 15 Oct 2024 (NIC chairman Haider Makkiya) Licensed value as stated; he added that innovative projects were exempt from competitive bidding. Number of licences not given. | 69 USD billion (more than) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2022 to 2025 | Investments 'achieved' over three years (NIC 2025 review) NIC wording; not a count of licences and not verified spending. | 102 USD billion (more than) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025 | Investment applications processed by the NIC NIC 2025 review. | 850 applications (more than) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025 | Investment licences issued or amended by the NIC NIC 2025 review; strategic projects; provincial commissions not included. | 40 licences (about) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025 | Investment projects appraised and studied by the NIC The 2025 National Investment Map was completed but not published on the NIC site. | 77 projects | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2023 to 2025 | Arab and foreign investment drawn over two years (NIC spokesperson Hanan Jassim, Aug 2025) Target stated: up to USD 250bn over the next two years; map holds more than 100 strategic opportunities. | 100 USD billion (more than) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025 | FBSA reports issued on the National Investment Commission FBSA annual report 2025, table of reports by body: results of operations 26, financial statements 17, other tasks 28, performance evaluation 6, periodic reports 4, contracts 1, inspection visits 1, special tasks 1. Column order read from the page image. | 84 reports | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2024-11 | New cities offered by the NIC with the Ministry of Construction: Peace City, Najaf Four opportunities of equal area; investment portfolio sold for IQD 30m; sealed bids within 60 days of 18 Nov 2024. | 3,912 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2024-11 | New cities offered by the NIC: Al-Mutanabbi, Wasit Five opportunities of 1,000 dunums each; same portfolio price and bid period. | 5,000 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2024-11 | New cities offered by the NIC: Ur, Dhi Qar Four opportunities of 1,000 dunums each; same portfolio price and bid period. | 4,000 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2024-11 | New cities offered by the NIC: Al-Majar Al-Kabir, Maysan Two opportunities; same portfolio price and bid period. | 2,299 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2024-11 | New cities offered by the NIC: Balad, Salah al-Din One opportunity; same portfolio price and bid period. | 804 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2024-11 | New cities offered by the NIC: Al-Warka, Muthanna One opportunity; same portfolio price and bid period. The six cities total 16,371 dunums (about 41 km2) in 17 opportunities. | 356 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2026-09 | Prime Minister al-Zaidi's initiative: new investment cities, one in each province At least 150,000 dunums in all. Provincial investment commissions are to get Central Bank loans for infrastructure; a committee of governors is to settle the land's legal problems and hand it to the NIC. Iraq Business News (7 Sep 2026) gives 10,000 to 15,000 dunums each. | 15 cities, each at least 10,000 dunums | 964media.com |
| 2024 | FBSA: Wasit licence No. 125 (agricultural), 3 Mar 2024 Nu'maniyah plot 33/46/1; capital IQD 6,100,000,000; two-year term. | 5,900 dunums | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2] |
| 2024 | FBSA: Wasit licence No. 127 (industrial brick plant), 7 Mar 2024 Capital cost IQD 73,248,273,437; 38-year term. | 150 dunums | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2024 | FBSA: Salah al-Din licences issued without land contracts (Nos. 308, 310, 311, 313, 314, 315) Issued 17 Mar to 24 Dec 2024; terms 24 to 60 months. | 6 licences | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2018 to 2022 | FBSA: Karbala Investment Commission: projects completed over five years Sum of 1, 6, 0, 2 and 5 as printed; 0 to 32 percent of each year's licences. | 14 projects | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2] |
| 2018 to 2022 | FBSA: Karbala: licensed projects that never started Sum of 6, 6, 0, 16 and 9 as printed. | 37 projects | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2018 to 2022 | FBSA: Karbala: licensed projects whose land was not handed over Sum of 4, 3, 0, 11 and 7 as printed; collection of follow-up fees 5 to 73 percent. | 25 projects | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2023 | FBSA: Maysan Investment Commission: licence applications decided after the 45-day limit Report 7515, year 2023. | 21 applications | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2023 to 2024 | Licence serial numbers seen in FBSA texts (not annual counts) Others: Babil 188 (14 May 2023), Maysan 108 (16 Feb 2023), Salah al-Din 315 (24 Dec 2024), Wasit 125 agricultural and 127 industrial (Mar 2024, separate sector series). Numbering schemes differ by commission. | 527 highest serial: Muthanna No. 527 (1 Feb 2024) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2][3][4] |
| 2010 to 2026 | Housing licences by province (cross-reference to the housing register) Basra 89 residential licences from Oct 2010 to Jun 2026 (about 27,000 dunums by printed areas); Najaf more than 36 housing licences (Jul 2023); Karbala 25 housing licences (provincial council committee, Jul 2024); Dhi Qar 65 residential complexes (Sep 2022). | 165 register rows | Not stated |
The Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment4 figures
| Period | What the figure measures | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 to 2025 | Sessions of the Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment with an official or press report found Dates: 14 Sep, 19 Oct and 26 Nov 2023 (sessions 2, 3, 4); 7 Jan, 20 Mar, 8 May and 26 Jun 2024 (5, 6, 7, 8); periodic meetings 11 Aug, 16 Sep, 30 Oct and 19 Dec 2024, 9 Feb, 27 Apr, 5 Jun, 3 Aug and 18 Sep 2025. The first session and its date were not found; the committee existed by 15 Aug 2023. No members list was published in the statements. | 16 sessions | pmo.iq[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]baghdadtoday.news |
| 2023 to 2024 | Projects exempted from the advertising condition in the three sessions that list exemptions (Nov 2023: 7; Jan 2024: 1; Mar 2024: 6) Industry: urea, Lazzaka sulphur, Mishraq sulphur, sodium carbonate, compound fertiliser; Electricity: three plants; Higher Education: digital transformation; Construction: Ali al-Wardi city; Diwaniyah iron and steel plant and airport; Interior: vehicle inspection; Planning: tender platform. Other sessions' statements do not list exemptions, which does not prove there were none. | 14 projects | pmo.iq[1][2][3] |
| 2025-09 | Land of a Ministry of Industry company turned into a housing investment licence by Cabinet decision (State Company for Communications and Power Equipment, Mosul) Cabinet 37th session, 16 Sep 2025; conditions of the Supreme Committee's decision go into the investment contract. | 932 dunums | pmo.iq |
| 2026-04 | Land in Basra to be sold to personnel of the Popular Mobilisation Commission without auction (Cabinet amendment of Decision 691 of 2025) Under the State Property Sale and Lease Law No. 21 of 2013; Cabinet session reported 7 Apr 2026. | 4,000 dunums | pmo.iq |
The Ministry of Industry and Minerals and its industrial development directorate29 figures
| Period | What the figure measures | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Investment and partnership contracts of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals (acting minister's request to the Integrity Commission, 25 Oct 2016) 'Investment and partnership contracts which reached 170 investment contracts'; investment-plan projects estimated at hundreds of billions of dinars. | 170 contracts | alsumaria.tv |
| 2019 | Investment projects and contracts signed by the Ministry in 2019 Statement of 14 Oct 2019; it lists the Al-Nawra plant (Karbala), Fallujah White Cement and Kufa paper-bag contracts among them, and says the ministry's companies offered more than 190 investment opportunities. | 36 contracts | alsumaria.tv |
| 2026 | State companies and plants under the Ministry (published 2026 data, as cited by Al-Rawabet Center) Shafaq News translation of a think-tank report (late Aug 2026); the original ministry statement was not found. | 312 plants (31 companies; 225 working; 87 stopped) | shafaq.com |
| 2026 | Partnership contracts with the private sector announced by the Ministry (as cited by Al-Rawabet Center) The report adds that the biggest oversight problem is the lack of clear public information on each contract: investor's name and real owners, promised and executed investment, valuation of state assets, state and investor profit shares, term, capacity, jobs, local content, exports, environmental duties. | 144 contracts in implementation (about 90 more under evaluation; 234 in all) | shafaq.com |
| 2024-Q1 | Preliminary (establishment) licences for new industrial projects, first quarter General Directorate for Industrial Development: also 114 land plots followed up, 227 raw-material and fuel needs assessments, 10 completion certificates, 1,110 industrial IDs renewed. | 219 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025 | Establishment licences for new industrial projects granted by the General Directorate for Industrial Development Ministry statement: also 856 land-allocation letters, 1,611 needs-assessment certificates, 400 completion certificates (Law 20 of 1998), 2,017 licence renewals and 154 reinstatements of suspended licences. | 1,867 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025 | Land-allocation letters for industrial projects Plots are state land leased at fair rent under Law 20 of 1998, Art. 9/first; area not given. | 856 letters | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-04 | Preliminary licences, April 2025 Baghdad 26, Nineveh 24, Basra 20, Anbar 13; 72 plots allocated; 30 completion certificates; 437 annual needs assessments. | 165 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-05 | Preliminary licences, May 2025 | 172 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-09 | Preliminary licences, September 2025 Baghdad 41, Basra 20, Nineveh 20, Anbar 17; 97 land-allocation letters. | 180 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-11 | Licences for new industrial projects, November 2025 Baghdad 46, Nineveh 17, Basra 15, Anbar 10; 25 completion certificates. | 158 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2026-02 | Establishment licences for new industrial projects, February 2026 43 completion certificates. | 230 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2026-03 | Preliminary licences, March 2026 Baghdad 30, Basra 18, Nineveh 18, Anbar 10, Kirkuk 10; 33 completion licences. | 124 licences | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2026 | Dhi Qar Industrial City (Industrial Cities Authority): area 105 serviced plots, all leased; 278 plots leased in total including unserviced ones; two-year rent exemption (June 2026 statement). | 2,000 dunums | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-03 | Green Mountain Industrial City, Basra (General Company for Iron and Steel with China's Tsingshan): area and contract value | 2,000 dunums (contract value USD 2 billion, signed Mar 2025) | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-09 | Industrial cities approved by the Authority's board: Babylon pharmaceutical city 708, Babylon Gateway 2,000, Akkad (Rashidiya, Baghdad) 125 Akkad is described as Iraq's first privately owned industrial city. | 2,833 dunums in three cities | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2025-04 | Rent in industrial-city plots (Ministerial Council for the Economy decision) Two-year rent exemption during set-up; later increases capped at 5 percent. | 250,000 IQD a month per half-dunum plot, years 3 to 5 | iraq-businessnews.com |
| 2020-06 | Integrity Commission proposal: rent for industrial land, assessed every 10 years A proposal, not the rule in force. For comparison Regulation 6 of 2017 sets the annual rent for investment-licence land at 2 percent of land value (FBSA, Tikrit case). | 3 percent of land value (ceiling) | alsumaria.tv |
| 2023 | FBSA: brick plants and gas offices operating on state land with expired leases, Maysan Report 6550, year 2023. | 43 sites (41 brick plants and 2 gas offices) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2] |
| 2024 | FBSA: brick and asphalt plants whose leases expired 8 to 12 years earlier, Babil Report 12987, year 2024; number of plants not given. | 12 years (longest lapse) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2] |
| 2019 to 2025 | FBSA: Al-Nawra lime plant (Karbala), investor's share of rehabilitation done Contract 13069 of 7 Nov 2019; target 180,000 tonnes of lime a year within 24 months of handover on 16 Aug 2020. | 45 percent (line 1 at 7.6; line 2 at 82) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2] |
| 2023 | FBSA: plant stores sold to the Al-Nawra investor and booked as its debt, end-2023 A further IQD 6,258,930,903 is recorded in the 2024 report (p. 297). | 3,309,649,219 IQD | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2023 | FBSA: salaries paid by the Fallujah White Cement plant instead of the investor, 13 Jan to 31 Aug 2023 Printed as IQD 4,562,085 thousand; contract 13908 of 21 Nov 2019. | 4,562,085,000 IQD | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2024 | FBSA: copper scrap received by the Ur partnership project (about 40 percent of output needed) Contract 1/ع/م.ش/2023 of 5 Dec 2023. | 64,075 tonnes | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2024 | FBSA: scrap used and unpaid by the Nour Sawi partner, State Company for Steel Industries Contract 5 of 23 May 2023; partner was to receive 1.5 million tonnes of scrap a year. | 27,879 tonnes (IQD 5,914,232 thousand) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq[1][2] |
| 2024 | FBSA: spent from the IQD 48,660 million rehabilitation allocation for the former Nasr plants before contract 5 of 5 Sep 2024 Printed as IQD 21,710,112 thousand. | 21,710,112,000 IQD | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2025 | FBSA: Industrial Cities Authority contract 4 of 2021 with Al-Yusra, change by addendum 2 (21 Apr 2025) | 6 years of implementation (from 3); development period 45 years (from 40) | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2024 | FBSA: Mosul dairy plant: first-instance compensation awarded against the investor (9 Dec 2024), under appeal Printed as IQD 25,379 million. | 25,379,000,000 IQD | storage.fbsa.gov.iq |
| 2023 | Integrity Commission: loss on cement sold at IQD 60,000 a tonne against the official IQD 65,000 (first batch of 1,300,000 tonnes) Summons only; no ruling. | 6,500,000,000 IQD (more than) | alsumaria.tv |
Decisions that involve more than one body1 figures
| Period | What the figure measures | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08 | Cabinet cut the area granted to Daiko for 'Basra 2' (Decision 213 of 2021) from 1,800 to 1,415 dunums Plus 10 percent of the project given to Baghdad's Fourth Ring Road by exception from Regulation 6 of 2017. | 1,415 dunums | pmo.iq |
What the courts, the oversight bodies and Parliament have said
By kind of record
- Court ruling8
- Audit finding20
- Finding of the Integrity Commission2
- Investigation or arrest11
- Accusation by an official17
- Government decision28
By window
- Investment commissions36
- Supreme Committee18
- Ministry of Industry27
- More than one body5
Records that match: 86.
- 24 August 2026Investigation or arrestInvestment commissions
Security forces on judicial warrants (security source quoted by Shafaq News and Alsumaria)
The director of the NIC legal department was arrested on judicial warrants on corruption charges. Shafaq's security source names her as Suraa Alaa and says the case concerns suspicion that she bargained with (pressured) investment companies; Alsumaria's source gave no details. No charge sheet or ruling has been reported.
شبهات قيام المتهمة بمساومة شركات استثمارية
- Named in the record
- Director of NIC legal department (named by Shafaq as Suraa Alaa, سرى علاء)
- Legal position
- arrest on judicial warrants (investigation); no charge or ruling found
- Sources
- shafaq.comalsumaria.tv
- 21 July 2026Accusation by an officialInvestment commissions
MP Afista Mam Yahya, member of Parliament's Investment Committee (interview with Kurdistan24)
The MP said 21 corruption files were registered against the NIC and under investigation, including the award of 5,000 dunums of prime land on the Baghdad airport road to two companies (the outlet prints a value above '18 trillion dollars', which is implausible and unverified), and alleged fraud against investors from the Kurdistan Region. She called for a review of every investment licence granted in the past ten years, saying many projects are fictitious. No document was published.
جزءاً كبيراً من هذه المشاريع وهمي أو "حبر على ورق"
- Named in the record
- NIC; two companies not named; NIC head (Haider Makkiya)
- Legal position
- parliamentary allegation (MP interview); file count and values unverified
- Sources
- kurdistan24.net
- 9 July 2026Accusation by an officialInvestment commissions
Council of Representatives (vote announced by Parliament's media office)
Parliament voted to dismiss National Investment Commission chairman Haider Makkiya and to refer his files to the Integrity Commission, after an interrogation held in his absence because he did not attend. MP Mansour al-Baiji said the questions about the Commission's work stayed unanswered. The sources do not list the charges.
مجلس النواب يُصوت على إعفاء رئيس الهيئة الوطنية للاستثمار حيدر مكية من منصبه واحالة الملفات إلى هيئة النزاهة
- Named in the record
- Haider Mohammed Makkiya (حيدر محمد مكية); MP Mansour al-Baiji; Integrity Commission
- Legal position
- parliamentary dismissal with referral for investigation; no charge, trial or ruling found
- Sources
- 964media.comalmadapaper.net
- 15 June 2026Accusation by an officialInvestment commissions
MP Adil al-Rikabi, press conference in Parliament (reported by Alsumaria)
The MP said the Speaker had approved questioning the NIC head because of corruption suspicions and the granting of investment contracts that violate the investment law and its controls, and that the Speaker's office staff had not sent the questions to the Commission.
وافق على استجواب رئيس هيئة الاستثمار لوجود شبهات فساد ومنح عقود استثمارية مخالفة لضوابط وقانون الاستثمار
- Named in the record
- NIC head (Haider Makkiya); MP Adil al-Rikabi
- Legal position
- parliamentary allegation (MP statement); no ruling
- Sources
- alsumaria.tv
- 7 June 2026Government decisionSupreme Committee
Shafaqna report on PM Ali al-Zaidi's ministerial programme (programme submitted to Parliament 7 May 2026; confidence vote 14 May 2026)
PM Ali al-Zaidi's ministerial programme provides for founding a 'Supreme Council for Investment'. His financial adviser Mazhar Mohammed Salih called it a high-level national framework to set investment policy and unify the bodies and decisions involved, going beyond the licensing and administrative-facilities approach, and a single economic window. The report gives no legal instrument, members or date; the NIC head was replaced on 30 Jul 2026 and the council had not been shown as established in sources read. The Kadhimi government had earlier promised a Supreme Council for Reconstruction and Investment to be created by law. The Government Observatory tracker (updated 31 May 2021) records a draft law prepared under PM Abdul-Mahdi that had its second reading on 11 Nov 2019 and was never ratified, and says the Cabinet formed instead a Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Services under Diwani Order 161, chaired by the PM's investment adviser.
خطوات المنهاج الوزاري لحكومة رئيس الوزراء، علي الزيدي، المتعلقة بتأسيس «المجلس الأعلى للاستثمار»
- Named in the record
- PM Ali Falih al-Zaidi; Mazhar Mohammed Salih (PM's financial adviser)
- Legal position
- programme commitment; no council established in the sources read
- 24 May 2026Government decisionMinistry of Industry
Ministry of Industry and Minerals: new minister Mohammed Nuri Ahmed's first meeting with senior staff (964media, from the ministry's statement)
Among ten directives the minister ordered a ministerial committee to study the mechanisms of contracting with the private sector to simplify procedures and cut red tape, and the settlement of the brick-plants file, with a committee to coordinate with Wasit governorate (the FBSA 2025 report criticises a Wasit brick-plant licence, No. 127).
تشكيل لجنة وزارية لدراسة آليات التعاقد مع القطاع الخاص لتبسيط الإجراءات وتقليل الروتين والبيروقراطية
- Named in the record
- Minister Mohammed Nuri Ahmed (محمد نوري أحمد); Wasit governorate
- Legal position
- administrative decision (executive)
- Sources
- 964media.com
- 22 April 2026Accusation by an officialInvestment commissions
MP Suzan al-Saad, member of Parliament's Investment and Development Committee (Shafaq News)
Announcing a hearing of the NIC head, the MP said investment in recent years concentrated heavily on housing complexes and commercial malls with little diversification, especially into industry, and that the committee had received information on cases of corruption and illegal sale of houses and apartments in some complexes but lacked documents to hold anyone to account. It would examine the NIC's powers to fix housing-unit prices.
تلقت العديد من المعلومات بشأن وجود حالات فساد وبيع غير قانوني للمنازل والشقق في بعض المجمعات السكنية
- Named in the record
- NIC; investors in housing complexes (not named); MP Suzan al-Saad
- Legal position
- parliamentary allegation without documents; no ruling
- Sources
- shafaq.com
- 7 April 2026Government decisionMore than one body
Council of Ministers (statement of the PM's office, Sudani government in its final weeks)
The Cabinet approved the mechanism that guarantees the state's share of residential investment projects fixed by the Advisers Commission, and said it covers investment licences that obtained exceptions through the Supreme Committee for Investment and Reconstruction. The same session amended Decision 691 of 2025 to include the sale of 4,000 dunums in Basra to personnel of the Popular Mobilisation Commission in the governorate, without public auction, under the State Property Sale and Lease Law No. 21 of 2013.
ليتضمن بيع مساحة 4000 دونم، في محافظة البصرة الى منسوبي هيأة الحشد الشعبي في المحافظة
- Named in the record
- Council of Ministers; Popular Mobilisation Commission personnel in Basra; Advisers Commission
- Legal position
- Cabinet decision (executive). No charge, court ruling, sanction or official finding was found in the sources read.
- Sources
- pmo.iq
- 26 November 2025Audit findingMinistry of Industry
FBSA report 31157 on the Fallujah White Cement plant (2023 to 2024)
Investment contract No. 13908 of 21 Nov 2019 between the Ministry of Industry and Minerals / State Company for Iraqi Cement and Partner Tech (as printed). The plant paid the salaries of all staff except 21 follow-up committee members from 13 Jan to 31 Aug 2023 (IQD 4,562,085 thousand, about IQD 4.56bn), although Article 10/1 of the contract made the investor pay salaries after the first year and a half from handover. The Ministry took the plant back after starting cancellation procedures (letter 10174 of 19 Sep 2023).
قيام المعمل بصرف رواتب كافة موظفي المعمل باستثناء موظفي لجنة المتابعة البالغ عددهم (21) موظف بدلاً من تحمل الشركة المستثمرة
- Named in the record
- Partner Tech (بارتنر تكنك, as printed); State Company for Iraqi Cement; Ministry of Industry and Minerals
- Legal position
- audit finding (FBSA asked for investigation or corrective action; no outcome found)
- 21 October 2025Audit findingMinistry of Industry
FBSA report 27489 on the Babil cement plant (year 2024)
Contract No. 419 of 28 Apr 2020 between the State Company for Iraqi Cement and Hilal Al-Basra Co. for Trade, General Contracting, Marine Services and General Transport (LLC): rehabilitate and modernise the plant's laboratories and buildings, obtain API certification and market output (6,000 t a month of grade G at IQD 150,000/t and 2,000 t a month of grade B at IQD 80,000/t). In 2024 the contractor marketed no quantity of either grade and the plant did not confiscate the guarantee letter. The same report notes that only 20 percent of debts from the plant's sale of residential plots to its staff had been repaid more than ten years after the sale.
عدم قيام الشركة المتعاقدة بتسويق أي كمية من منتجات المعمل من الاسمنت المقاوم صنف (G, B) خلال سنة 2024
- Named in the record
- Hilal Al-Basra Co. (شركة هلال البصرة); State Company for Iraqi Cement
- Legal position
- audit finding (FBSA asked for investigation or corrective action; no outcome found)
- Sources
- storage.fbsa.gov.iq
- 19 October 2025Audit findingInvestment commissions
FBSA report 27267 on Wasit Investment Commission (year 2024), in FBSA annual report 2025
Industrial licence No. 127 of 7 Mar 2024 for a brick plant (Suwaira, 150 dunums, cost IQD 73,248,273,437, 38-year term). FBSA says agricultural-reform land was used for an industrial project without the commission obtaining release of the agrarian-reform claim; the investor started work before the plot was surveyed and partitioned; and the Ministry of Defence (letters 5373 of 9 Sep 2019 and 4840 of 3 Apr 2024) had objected that the area is a camp and ammunition store, yet the commission granted the licence without referring the dispute to the Prime Minister, as Article 20/third of the Investment Law requires.
تم استغلال اراضي زراعية مخصصة لاغراض الاصلاح الزراعي دون ان تقوم هيئة استثمار واسط برفع يد الاصلاح الزراعي
- Named in the record
- Wasit Investment Commission; Ministry of Defence (Military Housing Directorate); Ministry of Finance (State Real Estate Directorate); licensee not named in the report
- Legal position
- audit finding (FBSA asked for investigation or corrective action; no outcome found)
- Sources
- storage.fbsa.gov.iq
- 19 October 2025Audit findingInvestment commissions
FBSA report 27267 on Wasit Investment Commission (year 2024), in FBSA annual report 2025
Agricultural licence No. 125 of 3 Mar 2024 ('Ali al-Rais project for strategic crops'): 5,900 dunums at Nu'maniyah (plot 33/46/1 Al-Jazira), capital IQD 6,100,000,000, two-year term. FBSA found the commission late in asking the owner body (State Real Estate Directorate) for approval, and the plot was nominated through a letter of the Wasit agriculture directorate of 21 Oct 2015, although Article 20/second/a makes the commission's single window the only channel for obtaining sector approvals.
تأخر هيئة الاستثمار في مفاتحة الجهة المالكة للعقار (دائرة عقارات الدولة) لاستحصال الموافقة على انشاء المشروع
- Named in the record
- Wasit Investment Commission; State Real Estate Directorate (Ministry of Finance); project 'Ali al-Rais' (licensee name not given beyond the project title)
- Legal position
- audit finding (FBSA asked for investigation or corrective action; no outcome found)
Who ran the windows
| Name | Post | From | To | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nouri al-Maliki | Prime Minister (NIC is linked to the PM under Law 13/2006 Art. 4/third/h; the PM settles disputes between the NIC and other bodies under Art. 20/third) | 20 May 2006 | 8 September 2014 | Two governments (first to 22 Dec 2010, second 22 Dec 2010 to 8 Sep 2014). The investment law was passed in his first term (10 Oct 2006). | ar.wikipedia.org[1][2] |
| Haider al-Abadi | Prime Minister | 8 September 2014 | 25 October 2018 | Second Amendment Law No. 50 of 2015 to the Investment Law; Regulation 6 of 2017 on sale and lease of state land for investment. | ar.wikipedia.org |
| Adil Abdul-Mahdi | Prime Minister | 24 October 2018 | 7 May 2020 | Cabinet Decision 245 of 2019 on announcing investment opportunities was issued in his term. | ar.wikipedia.org |
| Mustafa al-Kadhimi | Prime Minister | 6 May 2020 | 27 October 2022 | Appointed Suha al-Najjar as NIC chair on 14 Sep 2020; his programme promised a Supreme Council for Reconstruction and Investment by law (not created; a Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Services under Diwani Order 161 was formed instead, per the Government Observatory tracker). | ar.wikipedia.org |
| Mohammed Shia al-Sudani | Prime Minister | 27 October 2022 | 14 May 2026 | Designated 13 Oct 2022, confidence vote 27 Oct 2022. Earlier acting Minister of Industry and Minerals (2016 to 2018). Chaired the Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment. | ar.wikipedia.org |
| Ali Falih al-Zaidi | Prime Minister | 14 May 2026 | in office (Oct 2026) | Confidence vote 14 May 2026 (14 ministers first; other portfolios later). Programme promises a Supreme Council for Investment; replaced the NIC head on 30 Jul 2026. | ar.wikipedia.orgpmo.iq |
| Dr Sami Raouf al-Araji | Chairman of the National Investment Commission (minister rank; nominated by the Council of Ministers and approved by Parliament under Art. 4/third) | not found (a 2008 Carnegie piece says the NIC board had not yet been announced; first named as chairman in Sep 2011 sources read) | by 14 Sep 2020 (exact date not found; still chairman in Mar 2019) | Died July 2025 (NIC statement; PM al-Sudani condoled). Stated that the NIC granted 1,336 licences worth USD 90.1bn between 2009 and 2016, and (27 Nov 2018) listed political quotas in provincial councils and administrative corruption among the obstacles. No other chairman between Mar 2019 and Sep 2020 was found. | iraq-businessnews.com[1][2][3][4]carnegieendowment.org |
| Suha Dawood Elias al-Najjar | Chair of the National Investment Commission | 14 September 2020 | late 2022 (between 22 Oct 2022 and 28 Jan 2023; exact date not found) | Appointed by PM Kadhimi in his 14 Sep 2020 changes to heads of independent bodies; before that PM adviser for economic and investment affairs. Sentenced in absentia on 8 Dec 2024 to seven years for unexplained wealth (first instance); the Integrity Commission's technical report says she was also managing director of a private company while chair. | al-aalem.comiraq-businessnews.com[1][2]kurdistan24.net |
| Dr Haider Mohammed Makkiya (Makiya) | Chairman of the National Investment Commission | 2023-01 (NIC statement carried 28 Jan 2023; Iraq Business News of 5 Aug 2026 says 'since the end of 2023') | 9 July 2026 | Appointed under PM al-Sudani. Parliament voted on 9 Jul 2026 to dismiss him and refer his files to the Integrity Commission after an interrogation held in his absence. Claimed political interference in Feb 2025; the Parliamentary Integrity Committee announced an inquiry into the claim. | iraq-businessnews.com[1][2]964media.comalmadapaper.net |
| Adel Dakhil Muhammad al-Yasiri | Chairman of the National Investment Commission (assigned to run its affairs by an order of the PM's office) | 30 July 2026 | in office (Aug to Sep 2026 sources) | Order text: assigned 'to run the affairs of the National Investment Commission'. Iraq Business News says he took up the chairmanship and promised transparency and rule of law. | shafaq.comiraq-businessnews.com |
| Shakir Aziz Shubayb al-Zamili | Head of Baghdad Investment Commission | 2010 | 2020 | Years as given in the housing-register notes. Sentenced in person to four years' severe imprisonment and IQD 10m in Jan/Feb 2022 (first instance after cassation); six further cases were reported under investigation. | aawsat.com |
| Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (as Prime Minister) | Chair of the Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Investment (Diwani Order 22430 of 2022) | by 15 Aug 2023 (a Cabinet decision of that date names it; formation date not found) | last session found 18 Sep 2025; left office 14 May 2026 | Members other than the chair are not listed in the statements read (16 sessions between 14 Sep 2023 and 18 Sep 2025); sessions hosted the Baghdad Mayor, ministers and governors. At the second session the committee reviewed its tasks and adopted tasks drafted by the PM's Advisers Commission. The committee is called 'اللجنة العليا للإعمار والاستثمار' or 'اللجنة العليا للاستثمار والإعمار'. | pmo.iq[1][2][3][4]baghdadtoday.news |
| Dr Sabah Abdul Latif | Chair of the Supreme Committee for Reconstruction and Services (Diwani Order 161; the Kadhimi-era precursor), the PM's adviser for investment affairs | not found (before 31 May 2021) | not found | Named by the Government Observatory tracker (updated 31 May 2021), which says the Cabinet formed this committee instead of the promised Supreme Council because the council needed a law, and that it followed up stalled projects. The tracker cites media statements of the adviser; dates of the order and of his term were not found. | gop-iraq.org |
| Ali Falih al-Zaidi (as Prime Minister) | Planned chair of the proposed Supreme Council for Investment (ministerial programme) | programme submitted 7 May 2026 | not established in sources read | Instrument, members and date not given in any source read. | iraq.shafaqna.comrudaw.net |
| Fawzi Hariri | Minister of Industry and Minerals | 20 May 2006 | 2010-12 | Dates are those of the Maliki I cabinet (20 May 2006 to 22 Dec 2010). | ar.wikipedia.org |
| Ahmad Nasser Dali al-Karbouli | Minister of Industry and Minerals | 21 December 2010 | 2014-09 | ar.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org | |
| Naseer al-Issawi | Minister of Industry and Minerals | 8 September 2014 | 2016 (exact date not found) | ar.wikipedia.org | |
| Mohammed Shia al-Sudani | Acting Minister of Industry and Minerals | 2016 (exact date not found) | 2018-10 | On 25 Oct 2016, as acting minister, asked the Integrity Commission to audit the ministry's investment and partnership contracts (170 contracts). | ar.wikipedia.orgalsumaria.tv |
| Salih Abdullah al-Jubouri | Minister of Industry and Minerals | 24 October 2018 | 2020-05 | Sentenced in person on 1 Feb 2023 to one year (first instance) over recordings of an oath to run the ministry on an MP's directions (named by Shafaq News). | ar.wikipedia.org |
| Manhal Aziz Mahmoud Abdul-Rahman al-Khabbaz | Minister of Industry and Minerals | 7 May 2020 | 27 October 2022 | Parliament's Integrity Committee opened files on him in May 2023 (investment contracts and projects); 120 MPs signed in May 2022 to withdraw confidence (press index headline). No ruling found. | ar.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org |
| Khalid Battal Najm (Khaled Battal al-Najm) | Minister of Industry and Minerals | 27 October 2022 | by 24 May 2026 | Chaired the Industrial Cities Authority's board; attended the Supreme Committee decisions that exempted his ministry from advertising. | ar.wikipedia.orgiraq-businessnews.com |
| Mohammed Nuri Ahmed al-Karbouli | Minister of Industry and Minerals | by 24 May 2026 | in office (Oct 2026) | First meeting with senior staff on 24 May 2026: ordered a ministerial committee on contracting with the private sector and settlement of the brick-plants file. | 964media.comar.wikipedia.org |
| Dr Ali Ibrahim Janaan (Jinnan, Janan) | Director-General, General Directorate for Industrial Development (issues establishment licences under Law 20/1998) | in post by 2 May 2024 (start not found) | in post on 26 May 2026 (latest source) | Earlier directors-general were not found. | iraq-businessnews.com[1][2] |
| Anas Hashim | Director-General, Industrial Cities Authority (board chaired by the Minister) | in post by 10 June 2026 (start not found) | in post (latest source) | iraq-businessnews.com | |
| Ahmed Abdul Jabbar Ali | Deputy Minister for Planning | in post by 13 March 2025 (start not found) | not found | In May 2022 MP Ahmed al-Jubouri named the then planning undersecretary as Yousif al-Janabi (allegation, not a finding). | iraq-businessnews.com |
| Ali Salih Hadi al-Attar | Director-General, State Company for Iraqi Cement (party to partnership contracts for cement plants) | not found | before 24 August 2021 | Sentenced on 24 Aug 2021 to six years and a fine (first instance) for bribery and mediation; the court source links the case to supply contracts for companies holding partnership contracts with the ministry. Another cement-company director-general was arrested in a sting on 16 to 18 Jan 2024 (not named). | alsumaria.tv |
The legal status of each member of the Supreme Committee and of each industry minister and director-general is given, name by name, in the register of the Supreme Committee and the register of the Ministry of Industry. All cabinet-level office holders are in the register of office holders.
What is not yet known
- The licence lists of the other provinces. The two lists published here are those of the national commission and the Baghdad commission. The provincial lists will be added as they are obtained.
- The minutes of the Supreme Committee, the numbers of its decisions and the list of its members. None has been published. In October 2024 the Prime Minister asked for an inventory of its decisions. No inventory was found.
- The names of those who benefited from most of the committee's decisions. The official statements do not give them.
- The owners of many licensed companies. The companies register is not open to the public.
- The market value of the land that was granted. The lists give the cost of the project, not the value of the land.
This layer connects with the ones before it. Some of the banks that bought dollars at the Central Bank's window hold investment licences themselves. The total sold through the window, $932 billion, is set out on the page about the currency window.