Iraqi Lawmaker Questions Suspected Irregularities in Mansour Cinema Contract

A member of Iraq’s parliament anti-corruption committee, Ala Hussein al-Temimi, has raised formal concerns over suspected financial and administrative irregularities in the contract to renovate Mansour Cinema and Theater, urging the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities to respond within 15 days. He said the case involves major pricing gaps, weak procurement documentation and delays in delivery. Temimi said the contract was signed with the Bahraini company Pico and that the documents show large differences between listed costs and market value. He cited 1.17 billion dinars allocated for the cooling system, which he said does not exceed 500 million dinars in actual value. He also said more than 136 million dinars were assigned for 170 electric lamps, and that the inspection lists were prepared hastily and arbitrarily. According to his statement, the materials’ country of origin and technical specifications were not recorded in the files. The lawmaker said the company is not specialized in construction and repair work, while the project has suffered delivery delays. He added that the head of the oversight committee was removed after refusing to sign off on false progress rates. Temimi called for the immediate formation of a specialized oversight committee that includes legal and project units, and said the ministry must provide an official and detailed reply within 15 days.