US Treasury sanctions Iraq’s Al-Huda Bank
The United States Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C. Photo: Alabama Political Reporter
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The US Treasury Department identified on Monday Al-Huda Bank, an Iraqi bank that serves as a conduit for terrorist financing, as a foreign financial institution of primary money laundering concern.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also issued a finding and a regulation that would cut off Al-Huda Bank from the American financial system by forbidding domestic financial institutions and agencies from opening or keeping a correspondent account for or on behalf of Al-Huda Bank.
Furthermore, the owner of the bank is subject to penalties from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that Al-Huda Bank and its foreign supporters, such as Iran and its proxies, siphon off money that would otherwise go toward supporting lawful commerce and the ambitions of the Iraqi people to become economically self-sufficient.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said that Iraq has made significant progress in rooting out illicit activity from its financial system, but unscrupulous actors continue to seek to take advantage of the Iraqi economy to raise and move money for illicit activity.
Nelson, who met with senior Iraqi officials on Monday, identified Al-Huda Bank as a key money laundering channel for destabilizing terrorist activity by Iran, proposing a special measure that will sever its correspondent banking access and imposing sanctions on its owner.