Iraqi Integrity Committee blames ex-CBI employee for US sanctions on banks

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, the Iraqi Parliamentary Integrity Committee accused a former Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) employee of being behind the US Federal Reserve sanctions on some banks in the country.

A total of 32 out of 72 banks operating in Iraq have been sanctioned.

Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil, a member of the Integrity Committee, stated that the former CBI employee concealed emails from the Federal Reserve, JPMorgan, and Citibank about banking operations.

“The failure to address these issues resulted in sanctions against some banks…Most affected banks are unaware of the reasons for the sanctions,” she added.

Unusual Situation

Meanwhile, economic expert Mustafa Akram Hantosh told Shafaq News that Dakhil's statements are “closer to reality” than those of the CBI.

He noted that “the collapse of the Iraqi banking system and the sanctions on 32 Iraqi banks without clear charges over the past year and a half is highly unusual, possibly a first-of-its-kind incident in global banking.”

Lack of Solutions

“The worst aspect,” Hantosh highlighted, “is the CBI's failure to provide serious solutions. Instead, the CBI plans to cancel the Fitr platform by the end of 2024 and transfer dollar-related operations to investor-owned banks and foreign ones (Jordanian and Gulf).”

The expert further warned, “If the CBI fails to address issues in Iraq’s banking sector, it could lead to the collapse of the entire system and the loss of nearly 100,000 private banking jobs to Jordan and Gulf countries.”

“Why don’t Iraqi banks secure guarantees to open dollar accounts with correspondent banks (Citibank/JP Morgan) like other countries in the region?” he asked. “Why the cooperation and auditing mechanism with Ernst & Young for non-dollar currency transactions remains undetermined or unannounced?”