It is still scandal, more to come

The Minister of Natural Resources in Iraq's Kuridstan Regional Government, Ashti Hawrami is now asking Norway's DNO International ASA to "find ways to remedy, and to our full satisfaction, the damage done to the KRG reputation," the KRG Web site says.

And in a bid to present himself as an honest man who raged by the reveal for his name by Oslo Stock Exchange as the secret middleman to sell DNO's shares to Turkey's Genel Enerji, Hawrami ordered the suspension of all DNO's oil operations in the region for six weeks until it finds these ways.And if not he will terminate the DNO's involvement in the region.

I challenge you that you will not to do it Mr. Hawrami.And it is still a scandal and I'm sure that more scandals will come soon.

Dear Mr. Hawrami, nothing in the Iraqi law allows you to do what you said it was "with the sole intention of helping DNO to raise the capital required for its projects in the Kurdistan Region" and "to be supportive of the companies working in the Kurdistan Region."

Simply put, you have breached Iraq's Penalty Law No. 111 in 1969 and the Civil-servant Disciplinary Law No. 14 in 1991.

Both laws say that any civil servant in the Iraqi government, from the lowest levels to the president of the state, has no right by any mean to practice any work outside his governmental job especially the commercial activities.

Such acts, which you described as to fall in your "official capacity as minister, and not on a personal basis", are considered by these two laws as either bribe or exploiting governmental position for raising money illegally. The penalty for the two cases could send you to the prison for up to three years.

And therefore, the regional parliament has the right now to summoned you for investigation, but just like other Iraqi officials I'm sure you will say "I'm not an Iraqi citizen, I hold another nationality so the Iraqi law doesn't apply on me."

Am I right?

kassakhoon@gmail.com