![]() ![]() dollars to support designated FTOs including the IRGC, as well as Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups including Kata’ib Hizballah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq. AL-HUDA BANK FINDINGĪs described in the finding, for years, Al-Huda Bank has exploited its access to U.S. On November 17, OFAC designated six individuals affiliated with KH following the group’s attacks against United States personnel and partners in Iraq and Syria. OFAC also designated three leaders and supporters of Kata’ib Hizballah and a business that served as a cover for Kata’ib Hizballah to move and launder funds. Last week, OFAC designated the Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad and its CEO for providing assistance to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and its regional proxy groups by transporting fighters and weapons. ![]() “We will continue to leverage the full range of Treasury authorities to target terrorist financing while simultaneously supporting the legitimate use of the international financial system.” “Evidence available to FinCEN has demonstrated that Al-Huda Bank served as a significant conduit for the financing of Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki. “By identifying 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, we can help protect the Iraqi financial system and its legitimate businesses, as well as the international financial system, from abuse by Iran and other illicit actors.” “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,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Treasury remains committed to its longstanding shared work with the Government of Iraq to strengthen the Iraqi economy and protect both the U.S. ![]() ![]() These bad actors fuel violence that threatens the stability of Iraq and the lives of U.S. In addition, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is imposing sanctions on the bank’s owner.Īl-Huda Bank and its foreign sponsors, including Iran and its proxy groups, divert funds that could otherwise support legitimate business and the economic aspirations of the Iraqi people. financial system by prohibiting domestic financial institutions and agencies from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for or on behalf of Al-Huda Bank. Along with its finding, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule that would sever the bank from the U.S. Treasury is issuing a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that identifies Al-Huda Bank, an Iraqi bank that serves as a conduit for terrorist financing, as a foreign financial institution of primary money laundering concern. Department of the Treasury is using powerful tools to protect the Iraqi and international financial system from abuse by terrorist financiers, fraudsters, and money launderers. FinCEN Identifies Al-Huda Bank as a Primary Money Laundering Concern for Serving as Conduit for Terrorist Financing by Iran ![]()
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