A former member of Iraq’s parliament who worked on oil and gas issues is calling out the Kurdistan Regional Government for not paying what it owes to Baghdad.
Bassem Nughaimish told dinaropinions.com that the KRG is basically refusing to hand over the money it makes from oil and border crossings. And that money should be going to the federal government treasury.
He’s pretty blunt about why: “Political favors are being made at the expense of public funds.” In other words, he’s saying someone’s getting special treatment while ordinary people foot the bill.
The bigger problem? This refusal is blocking the implementation of existing financial laws and starving the federal budget of cash it desperately needs. That money should be funding services and development projects across all the governorates — schools, hospitals, infrastructure, you name it.
And there’s another issue brewing. The KRG is already facing accusations from parliament of being shady when it comes to transferring tax revenue and income from border crossings. People in parliament and economic circles are paying close attention.
Here’s where the numbers get interesting: The KRG has been sending around 50 billion dinars per month to Baghdad. But the actual revenue the region is making from border crossings, customs, and taxes? It’s estimated to be around 350 billion dinars per month.
So basically, there’s a massive gap between what’s being sent and what should be sent. That’s a lot of money that’s supposed to be going to Baghdad but isn’t.
