POLITICAL POWER - AND REVENUE - GRAB AT OIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000405 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2016 TAGS: ECON EFIN ENRG EPET KCOR PGOV PREL IZ SUBJECT: POLITICAL POWER - AND REVENUE - GRAB AT OIL MINISTRY; SOMO ASKS FOR HELP REF: BAGHDAD 390 Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/REL GBR AUS) SUMMARY: Dr. Musab al-Dujayli (strictly protect),Director General (DG) of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO),asked the U.S. and UK embassies February 8 to intervene with the Prime Minister to prevent new Minister of Oil Hashem al-Hashimi from abrogating SOMO's current crude oil export and oil product import contracts in favor of contracts with Fadhila party-supported partners. Al-Dujayli claims that the Fadhila party, which has control over the Ministry of Oil in the current GOI political alignment, seeks revenue for the party through kickbacks it will receive on each contract. According to Al-Dujayli, Fadhila is willing to commit Iraq to purchase more than double the amount of imports currently budgeted in the party's search for cash; DGs who balk are being threatened with removal. Post Econ Section is working with the UK Embassy on language for a letter from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Oil ordering him to cease all activities that violate the PM's earlier directive to ministries to refrain from undertaking substantive obligations during this caretaker phase of the ITG. Econ Counselor will recommend that DPM Chalabi use these points with PM Ja'afari and, if necessary, the Ambassador will directly urge the PM to issue a new directive that will put an end to Fadhila's illegal activities at MoO. END SUMMARY. -------------- Ministry of Oil Coup -------------- ¶2. (C/REL GBR AUS) Speaking to representatives of the UK and U.S. embassies February 8, Dr. Musab al-Dujayli (strictly protect),Director General (DG) of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO),said that Hashem al-Hashimi, widely acknowledged as having been brought into the Ministry of Oil (MoO) at the behest of the Fadhila party to replace Ibrahim Bahr al-'Ulum several weeks ago, brought with him as advisor, Kedem al-Yacoubi, nephew of Fadhila spiritual leader Ayatollah al-Yacoubi. Kedem, a low-level engineer at SOMO and former shoe-shop owner in Damascus, recently had been rejected as the Fadhila candidate to replace al-'Ulum. Al-Hashimi, according to al-Dujayli, issued a memo February 2 fully empowering Kedem with all the authority enjoyed by the minister - in effect a Fadhila coup d'etat (NOTE: this is confirmed by several other directors general at MoO. END NOTE.) -------------- Fattening Fadhila -------------- ¶3. (C/REL GBR AUS) Kedem, according to al-Dujayli, has wasted no time in making his agenda at MoO crystal clear: providing revenue for the Fadhila party. Al-Dujayli said that a committee of some 12-15 Fadhila members, none of whom have any experience in MoO, have "spread throughout the oil sector," pressuring DGs to "do something financially for Fadhila." DGs that resist are being threatened with being fired. Al-Dujayli said that Fadhila apparently has decided that being awarded "control" over a ministry as political spoils of government formation entitles them to the ministry's wealth, and they are acting accordingly, taking advantage of the interim period to make their move. Al-Dujayli said that Iraq had only/only $213 million to spend per month on fuel imports. Fadhila is pressuring him to spend twice that, either canceling existing fuel contracts and re-awarding them to Fadhila favorites or, at the very least, signing additional contracts. Contracts signed now, al-Dujayli confirmed, would be binding for months to come. -------------- Milking Time at MoO -------------- ¶4. (C/REL GBR AUS) Al-Dujayli recounted a February 5 event during which he claimed that some 15 "youngsters" from the Fadhila party demanded entry to his office. The two al-Dujayli agreed to see reiterated earlier demands for financial "help" for Fadhila: "You know how to do it." They insisted that al-Dujayli, as head of SOMO, immediately sign several contracts favored by the party to import gasoline in the south. According to al-Dujayli, Fadhila's kickback from the favored supplier would be, for example, $50,000 on a contract to import 200,000 tons of fuel. When al-Dujayli objected on the grounds that it would be against the public BAGHDAD 00000405 002 OF 002 interest to commit public money, since Iraq could not afford to pay, the party members replied, "We are the public." The demand vis-a-vis exports is that SOMO immediately cancel all existing crude oil export contracts so that they can be bestowed instead on purchasers to be determined by Fadhila - presumably with suitable remuneration for the party for the favor. ¶5. (C/REL GBR AUS) When first approached by party members, al-Dujayli said he recommended they finance themselves the way most other Iraqi organizations and parties do: "form a company and get contracts." He reported that he was told, "You are not stronger than al-'Ulum, and we sent him home." Al-Dujayli called Ayatollah al-Yacoubi an "agent of pressure," adding that Prime Minister Ja'afari is reluctant to stand against Fadhila so long as he seeks their support to retain the prime ministership in the next government. Fadhila, al-Dujayli opined, wants his signature as legal cover for their looting of what he called the ministry's assets. -------------- U.S. a Shrinking Violet? -------------- ¶6. (C/REL GBR AUS) Al-Dujayli claims to have received a lukewarm reception when he briefed Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi on the situation February 6. Chalabi called Kedem's appointment to MoO illegal but did not say he would take any specific action; hence al-Dujayli's decision to ask for U.S. and UK assistance. "You have been too shy of putting (U.S. and UK) ideas (on the new government) to the Iraqis," al-Dujayli said. He recommended that the US intervene directly in the choice of a new minister of oil, claiming that MoO employees - himself included - are "petrified" that MoO will remain in Fadhila hands. ¶7. (C/REL GBR AUS) COMMENT: As long as Fadhila does not retain control of the ministry in the next government, al-Dujayli admitted that this could be a short-term problem. Many of our Shia Alliance contacts have told us that the Fadhila Party will not retain control of MoO because of how poorly it managed the ministry. If Nadim al-Jabiri is successful at his bid for the premiership, Fadhila will not have control of any ministry (reftel). Iraq, however, cannot afford the consequences of even a short-lived interregnum of financial mayhem at MoO. With the conviction of the newly-converted, al-Dujayli spoke vehemently of his budget limitations, and, although he may have other (possibly political) agendas of which we are unaware, he appeared sincere in his request for our help. Post Econ Section is working with the UK Embassy on language for a letter from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Oil ordering him to cease all activities that violate the PM's earlier directive to ministries to refrain from undertaking substantive obligations during this caretaker phase of the ITG. Econ Counselor will recommend that PM Chalabi use these points with PM Ja'afari and, if necessary, the Ambassador will directly urQ the PM to issue a new directive that will put an end to Fadhila's illegal activities at MoO. KHALILZAD