Central Bank of Iraq Issues Strict Directives to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

rafidainscope - The Central Bank of Iraq has issued new directives targeting non-banking financial institutions, including strict regulations to enhance customer identification mechanisms and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. The directives emphasized the necessity of identifying the ultimate beneficial owner before initiating any business relationship, along with continuously updating databases to detect Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and ensuring they are not on sanctions lists. The bank also called for the activation of international and local investigation systems and conducting in-depth analyses of complex commercial structures, stressing the obligation to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) without notifying the customer, and intensifying training programs for supervisory staff in line with international standards and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).