Kataib Hezbollah accuses Iraqi PM, aide of amassing billions in alleged illicit wealth

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The security chief of pro-Iran Kataib Hezbollah on Saturday accused Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and his top aide of amassing billions of dollars in alleged illicit wealth, while denying that the armed group controls commercial contracts at Iraqi airports and threatening to expose alleged plots targeting the Kurdistan Region’s Khor Mor gas field.

"How was your massive financial empire built, which Mr. al-Zaidi acknowledged, amounting to nearly (21) trillion dinars - that is, more than (13) billion dollars? And how was this wealth collected in a period of time not exceeding (10) years, so that perhaps hardworking youth may benefit from it in earning their livelihood," Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, Kataib Hezbollah's security chief, said in a statement published on Telegram.

Assaf also warned against opening files concerning alleged plots to target the Kurdistan Region’s Khor Mor gas field, saying: "We do not want to air dirty laundry in public, nor open the files of (Khor Mor) and the incitement to target it for the purpose of extorting the UAE; for whoever's house is made of glass should not throw stones at people."


The statement comes amid a prolonged standoff between Zaidi’s government and powerful Iran-aligned factions over Baghdad’s efforts to bring all weapons outside state control under government authority. 

It also follows Zaidi's order earlier on Saturday to cancel contracts with three companies at Mosul International Airport over their alleged links to armed groups and transfer their operations to international firms.

Zaidi initially set the end of September as the deadline for armed factions to surrender their weapons, coinciding with the end of the United States-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq, before extending the timetable to the end of June 2027. 

Kataib Hezbollah and other factions rejected the extension, insisting they had not agreed to the proposals, while Assaf stated in mid-October that talks through the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework's negotiating committee remained at "square one."

In his Saturday statement, Assaf dismissed reports by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television network alleging that Kataib Hezbollah controls contracts inside Iraqi airports as a "blatant lie" and part of a "media war" waged against the pro-Iran Axis of Resistance. 

He also categorically denied that the group holds any relationship, partnership, or mediation role with the Iraqi Defense Industries Commission.   

Billions in questioned wealth

Assaf directed sharp accusations at Hassan al-Zaidi, the prime minister's brother and head of media and security in the Prime Minister's Office, mocking his claims regarding faction-linked companies and investments.   

"All the claims you boast about regarding investments, companies, and the like - whether true or fabricated as slander - we consider them in their entirety, with all their properties, a (gift) to you from the Kata'ib, to be added to your assets, perhaps to satisfy the greed of your eyes, which nothing can fill except dirt," Assaf said.   

Calling on Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity to enforce the law without favoritism, Assaf contrasted the government's treatment of the prime minister's circle with recent corruption convictions against Iraqi lawmakers, including former MPs Alia Nassif, Mohammed al-Sayhoud, and Hussein Talib. 

An Iraqi anti-corruption court on Wednesday sentenced Nassif to two years in prison for unlawfully profiting from public office - her second conviction in under two months after receiving a seven-year sentence in late September for illicit enrichment that obliged her to return over $46 million.   

"If Alia Nassif is led to prison due to legal violations through which an amount of (4) billion dinars was collected, al-Sayhoud is imprisoned for (300) million dinars, and Hussein Talib for (40) billion... Will you kindly ask Mr. al-Zaidi: Where did you get this?" Assaf asked. 

"Did he bring (21) trillion from the ration card supply contracts? Or was it amassed from the catering contracts for the Iraqi army in the Ministry of Defense, who complain night and day of poor feeding? Or from other deals and methods that are not appropriate to mention now?"   

Oil discounts and resistance funding

Assaf also pressed the Integrity Commission on whether it had opened an investigation into crude oil contracts with the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and "the massive financial discrepancies that are deducted from the sustenance of Iraqis in favor of the concessions of foreign companies and their partners among some Iraqis".

The query builds on a previous statement issued by Assaf on Tuesday, in which he accused Baghdad of selling Iraqi crude to ADNOC at a $47-per-barrel discount, and alleged, without providing documentation, that US special envoy Tom Barrack, Emirati official Tahnoon bin Zayed, Hassan Zaidi, and Iraqi businessman Saad Waheeb - founder of the Raban Al-Safina Group and father of Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Waheeb - were splitting over 4.5 trillion dinars ($3.4 billion) in monthly profits from the sales. 

Concluding his Saturday statement, Assaf questioned Prime Minister Zaidi's hostility toward the Islamic Resistance in Iraq - an umbrella of Iran-aligned Shiite militias - alleging prior financial dealings with the factions during the Gaza war.   

"You know very well who was donating money to the resistance during the Al-Aqsa Flood battle, and how his money was turning into drones and missiles pounding the bases of the enemies; indeed, you know completely who was the mediator and guarantor for the resistance's funds before they became (unwelcome) - and five million dollars still remain owed by them - which is a matter proven with dates and official receipts," Assaf said.

Separately, the Iran-aligned Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada armed group on Saturday pushed back against official claims regarding disarmament, rejecting what it described as "inaccurate statements" by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. 

The group's media council confirmed that it had signed a "Sovereignty Agreement" alongside three other armed factions, the ruling Coordination Framework, and the prime minister, insisting that it remains committed to the pact's terms but "has not announced, adopted, or signed any position regarding its weapons.” 

Calling on government officials to exercise responsibility and avoid presenting "incorrect information to public opinion," the faction mocked Hussein for his "disconnection from the reality of events and his lack of familiarity with what is happening on the ground as a result of his frequent travels and rare presence in Baghdad". 

The group added that it was ready to provide the minister with periodic briefings on domestic developments to help him "avoid falling into such pitfalls in the future".