By John Lee. Iraq has been granted membership of the Egmont Group, which focuses on exchanging information among financial investigation units combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The vote took place during the group's 29th general meeting in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Judge of the Court […]
On Tuesday, Rebar Ahmad, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Minister of Interior, welcomed the KRG's Financial Action Taskforce for money laundering and terrorist financing. The taskforce includes representatives from 15 other organisations in the region and operates in accordance with international standards. Minister Ahmad praised the taskforce's efforts and emphasised the government's transparent policies for combating […]
By John Lee. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Mustafa Ghaleb Mokhif, received the US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski and her accompanying delegation on Monday. He reviewed the efforts of the CBI to support development through monetary policy tools and the direct impact of its initiatives on the real sector progress, […]
Foreign Minister Calls on his German Counterpart to Support the Removal of Iraq from List of High-risk Countries in Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Iraqi Foreign Minister Mr. Fuad Hussein received a phone call from German Foreign Minister Mr. Heiko Maas. The two Ministers discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, and the prospects for […]
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions today on Afaq Dubai, an Iraq-based money services business (MSB) that has been moving money for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Today’s designation follows action taken by the Department of Defense—announced on October 11—against a key ISIS financial […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has organized a course on combating money laundering, terrorism financing, compliance and risk management. The course was held from 17th to 20th September at the Central Bank building, under the supervision of the banking studies center. Sixty-one employees from government, private banks and money transfer companies […]
By Simon Kent. A think tank has estimated that the so called Islamic State have suffered another major blow to their finances, losing another 30% of their income in the course of a year. The news comes after reports in January that the group slashed the salaries of fighters by over half. In that respect, […]
By Simon Kent. The US air force has eliminated Abu Saleh, the financial coordinator of ISIS (also known as Daesh) in an air strike at the end of November. US military spokesman Col. Steve Warren announced the strike, noting that Abu Saleh was "a legacy al Qaeda member." The strike was one of a series […]
By Simon Kent. A wave of US aircraft, including A-10 bombers which can fire thousands of exploding canon shells per minute, have destroyed 116 ISIS fuel tankers near the Iraqi border in Syria. The operation at Albu Kamal (the Iraqi side of the border is Al Qaim), code named Tidal Wave II, targeted a gathering […]
By Patrick Schmidt. For a terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) follows relatively normal business practices. It may come as a surprise to those not familiar with the group, but the organization has published an annual report revealing its secrets to success and longevity. ISIL is thought to earn at […]
By Patrick Schmidt. In addition to current energy holdings in Syria, the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds seven different oil fields in Iraq. This past month the militants seized Ain Zalah and Batma oil fields. They had previously gained control of Najma, Qayara, Himreen, Ajeel and Balad oil fields. The […]
