US Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of Kurdish General's Beverly Hills Mansion

The US Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize a luxury mansion in Beverly Hills owned by Mansour Barzani, a Kurdish general and brother of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Prime Minister. Authorities allege the property was purchased and renovated using approximately $30 million in illicit proceeds derived from a fraud scheme against the US Department of Defense. The complaint asserts that Barzani accepted bribes from a Virginia-based logistics contractor, identified as DGCI, to grant exclusive rights for jet fuel delivery at Erbil International Airport between 2016 and 2020. This exclusivity allowed the contractor to charge significantly inflated prices, up to $10 per gallon, compared to standard Defense Logistics Agency rates. The fuel was intended for US military operations against ISIS under Operation Inherent Resolve. This legal action follows previous investigations revealing that the Barzani family utilized anonymous shell companies to acquire over $100 million in US assets. The case highlights alleged corruption involving high-ranking Kurdish officials and US defense contracting during the campaign against the Islamic State.