The leader of the Coordination Framework, Issam Al-Kriti, considered, on Sunday, that oil smuggling is a drain on Iraq’s wealth and a violation of the constitution, noting that oil is a wealth for all segments of Iraqi society and must be managed federally.
Al-Kriti explained in an interview with Al-Maalouma, “The oil file is complex and large, and many parties are involved in it, knowing that the revenues of this oil go to influential forces in the north, which raises concerns.”
Al-Kriti pointed out that “smuggling operations are not limited to a specific period, but extend beyond 2003, so there are no accurate statistics on the amount of money or revenues that were obtained from smuggling operations,” noting that “the recent report published about the smuggling of nearly 200,000 barrels per day was shocking, and reveals an international awareness of the reality of the smuggling file taking place in the northern regions of the country.”
He added, “Baghdad must take a bold decision to stop all forms of smuggling and place oil export operations under exclusive federal management, because the continuation of smuggling represents a violation of all laws and customs, and leads to major problems in the file of marketing and oil exports through the State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO).”
It is noteworthy that a document published in the past few days showed that the volume of oil smuggling from the Kurdistan region in the north of the country reaches 200 thousand barrels per day.
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