Ex-corruption chief alleges Iraq oil grab

BAGDAD, Iraq, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Iraq's former top corruption watchdog says he was fired for outing political connections to the still booming racket of oil smuggling.

"I was fired after I uncovered the names of oil smugglers," said Moussa Faraj, the former chief of Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity, the Dar al-Salam newspaper reports.

Faraj accused the head of the Parliament's Integrity Committee, Sabah al-Saadi, of involvement in corruption and alleged this information led to his removal.

He said he's given Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Presidential Council -- the president and two vice presidents -- the names of people involved in smuggling oil and government vehicles. He also said the Fadhila Party, including the governor of Basra, protects the smugglers and controls the southern oil pipelines.

Smuggling takes between $1.4 billion and $2 billion from Iraqi coffers. Most is from refined products, not raw crude. But it's alleged to be rampant in the south as well as the Baiji refinery in the north.

Faraj was the deputy to Radhi al-Radhi, the head of the CPI since 2004 until his resignation last September. Radhi was in the United States at the time and accused the Iraqi government of widespread corruption and death threats. Maliki accused Radhi of corruption and said he fled the country.

Moussa Faraj was named interim chief but has since been replaced by Rahim al-Ugaili.

"The purpose of firing me was because I am not going along with these corrupt people," he said, adding he'll reveal all of his information in a session of Parliament.