Iraqi oil gangs syphon off billions

A new class of grand mafiosi sucking billions of pounds out of Iraq’s vital oil sector is crippling efforts to rebuild the nation, according to an official report published in Baghdad.

The findings of the Oil Ministry’s independent inspector-general painted a sordid picture of massive abuses pervading every corner of the industry, from the well-head to the petrol pump. It said that since Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, the spread of smuggling had turned Iraq from a major exporter of petrol products into an importer.

Walid Khadduri, economics editor of the pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper, estimates that smuggling and other rackets in Iraq are costing the country more than