Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity has disrupted an attempt to fraudulently obtain nearly IQD 1.5 trillion (USD 1.1 billion) from two state-owned banks in Baghdad.
A field team from the commission’s Baghdad Investigations Directorate, working in coordination with judicial authorities, apprehended three suspects at the headquarters of Rafidain Bank.
The suspects were found in possession of seven forged cheques purportedly issued by Rafidain Bank and Rasheed Bank, with a combined face value of approximately IQD 1.5 trillion (USD 1.1 billion). A deposit sale contract in one suspect’s name, valued at IQD 612 billion (USD 467 million), was also seized during the operation.
Initial investigations confirmed that no accounts or balances corresponding to those amounts existed in the suspects’ names. The suspects confessed to attempting to process the instruments unlawfully.
The operation was conducted under Articles 289 and 298 of the Penal Code. The suspects were presented before the judge of the Second Karkh Investigative Court for Integrity Cases, who ordered their detention pending completion of the investigation.
The commission noted that coordination with Rafidain Bank’s management was instrumental in identifying the forgeries.
