Iraqi Oil Ministry Fires 450 Suspected Of Corruption, Black Market Sales

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BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 21, 2005 (ENS) - "The Iraqi oil ministry has sacked more than 450 employees suspected of selling fuel on the black market. The move is the most recent in a series of measures designed to crack down on corruption within the industry, the country’s most lucrative sector.

Iraq is thought to have the world’s second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. But graft and attacks on fuel tankers and pipelines have led to disappointing 2004 revenues. The oil ministry’s general inspector Ali Muhsin Ismael said that the government’s inability to provide a secure environment was partly responsible, but noted that his ministry accepted some of the blame for the situation. "There is still corruption in the oil ministry and this cannot be ," Ismael said.

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Abdul Kareem Li’aibi, the oil ministry’s fuel distribution project manager, said that the government had recently discovered that one of its southern pipelines was peppered with more than 20 illegal taps, allowing tankers to top up their loads at will.

Li’aibi claims that organized gangs are behind these corrupt practices, and blames them for the fact that only 60 percent of trucks carrying oil products from wells to other areas reach their destination, while the remainder are attacked and hijacked. He also said that many petrol station managers are selling their products on the black market - sometimes in cooperation with the police."

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http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2005/2005-04-21-03.asp