Iraq’s central bank on Thursday cut ties with an Iraqi bank and its director after they were targeted by new US sanctions against entities linked to Iran.
Local media reported that the Central Bank of Iraq ordered the country's financial institutions to cease dealing with Al-Bilad Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, and its CEO Aras Habib Karim, after they were added to a US Treasury sanctions list on Tuesday.
Mr Karim is also Secretary General of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) and ran in last week’s election allied with Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s Victory coalition. He spoke out after being added to the US sanctions list for allegedly helping provide support to designated terrorists, calling the designation politically motivated.
“While we are surprised by the timing of the statement issued by the US Treasury Department, especially before the announcement of the final results of the Iraqi elections, we confirm that we have conclusive evidence refuting this defamation against me and the Islamic Bank,” said a statement published on Mr Karim’s website.
The US Treasury said the bank and Mr Karim had been sanctioned for helping to move funds to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, both of which the US designates as terrorist entities.
Mr Karim vowed to challenge the designation. "These accusations are invalid, unfortunate, and bear no relation to reality," he said. “I will provide all the relevant evidence to the Central Bank of Iraq, which is the only regulatory body to which we are subject.”
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Read more:
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Mr Karim was a close ally of and successor to INC founder Ahmed Chalabi, an exiled opponent of former dictator Saddam Hussein who pushed for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. US officials later accused Mr Karim of passing information to the Iranians when he worked as Mr Chalabi’s intelligence head.
Since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal on May 9, the US has issued three rounds of sanctions targeting Iran and Hezbollah.
The recent sanctions also targeted the governor of the Central Bank of Iran and key Hezbollah officials including leader Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy Naim Qassem.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
