Iraq issues bank directive imposing sanctions on ISIS and Hezbollah financiers

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Ministry of Finance has issued a new directive to banks imposing sanctions on three individuals and six entities accused of supporting ISIS financing networks. The sanctioned parties operate in Europe, the Middle East and West Africa and are alleged to have facilitated money transfers to the group, according to a formal document issued by the ministry's External Development Fund and reviewed by Shafaq News. The directive is based on correspondence from the U.S. State Department dated June 30 and from the U.S. Treasury Department in early July. It also references U.S. Executive Order 13224, a counterterrorism measure, in extending sanctions to entities linked to Hezbollah. The order targets the group's financial and logistical support networks, the document said. The circular was signed by External Development Fund Director Zafir Mehdi Abdullah and Acting Director General Nadia Rashid Ali and circulated to ministry-affiliated departments, banks, institutions and companies. It instructs recipients to refrain from financial transactions with the listed individuals and entities and to apply the required measures. No further details on the implementation timeline or the specific banks affected were immediately available.