In Baghdad, advertisement is rife for private banks safeguarded by concrete walls and security detail. But it is hard to find a single customer using these banks for any financial transactions. These newly formed institutions hide part of a complex financial “cartel” for smuggling and money laundering.
On February 17, Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shia scholar who leads the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, called for holding shady banks accountable for their involvement in currency smuggling and bill fraud.
