By John Lee. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has deleted the following Iraq-related entities from its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list: MIDCO FINANCE S.A. (a.k.a. MIDCO FINANCIAL S.A.; a.k.a. MONTANA MANAGEMENT INC.), 57 Rue du Rhone, Geneva CH-1204, Switzerland; Panama; US FEIN CH-660-0-469-982-0 (United States); Switzerland [IRAQ2]. MIDCO […]
By Elena Mataro for Argus Media. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The EU's ban on Russian seaborne crude imports has opened the door to an increased flow of sour Middle East grades into the Mediterranean. Iraq's Basrah grades have already […]
By John Lee. More than 100 representatives of leading Iraqi and Russian businesses took part in the Russian-Iraqi Business Forum in Moscow last week. According to a press release from The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, the Ambassador of Iraq in Moscow, Mr. Abdurakhman Al-Husseini, told delegates that Iraq is open […]
By John Lee. Mustafa Ghaleb Mokhif, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has met with the Russian Ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kutrashev, to discuss the payments due to Russian companies operating in Iraq. In a statement after the meeting, both parties expressed the need to find appropriate solutions to this issue. Payments […]
By John Lee. The United Nations Security Council has removed Iraq's state-owned Al-Rasheed Bank [Al-Rashid Bank] from its Sanctions List. The updated version of the Committee's Sanctions List, available in HTML, PDF and XML format, may be found here. Authorities in the United Kingdom have also confirmed that the bank has been removed from the […]
By Layal Shakir, for Rudaw. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi central bank suggests halting business, financial dealings with Russia The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) on Wednesday suggested halting business operations and financial dealings with Russia following America's far-reaching sanctions […]
By John Lee. The US State Department has reportedly granted a new sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to continue importing electricity from Iran for another 120 days. More here. (Source: S&P Global)
By John Lee. The United Kingdom has issued sanctions against a number of individuals, including a former Governor of Nineveh province in Iraq. Nawfal Hammadi Al-Sultan is alleged to have misappropriated public funds intended for reconstruction efforts, and to have improperly awarded contracts and other state property. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence […]
By John Lee. Iran has reportedly suspended the supply of gas and electricity to Iraq, at a time when the country is struggling to cope with with soaring temperatures. According to AP, Iraq already owes Iran $4 billion for energy imports, and Iran is pushing to have the debt paid. More here. (Source: AP)
By John Lee. At least 24 Iranian traders have set up shop in Dohuk this week alone, according to a report from AP. Pressure as a result of sanctions on Iran are causing Iranian businesses to look more to Iraq for customers. Click here to read the full report from AP. (Source: AP)
By Michael Knights, for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The U.S. Designation of Kataib Hezbollah's Abu Fadak The latest sanctions against a senior leader in the Iranian-backed terrorist militia are a reminder that such […]
By John Lee. Iran's Minister of Energy has said that a euro account is to be opened in Baghdad so that Iraq can pay its debts to Iran for electricity and natural gas purchases. IRNA reports that Reza Ardakanian added that the same account can be used for Iraq's debts to Iranian private sector companies. […]
