Federal Intelligence Agency exposes forgery network to move large sums out of Iraq

The Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency at the Ministry of Interior announced on Monday the arrest of a criminal network it described as "dangerous" that was promoting forgery and manipulation of customs transactions to carry out large foreign-currency transfers abroad, which it said harmed the national economy.

The agency said in a statement that precise intelligence led to the formation of a task force, and after continuous investigation and monitoring the team reached a house in Basra that the network had used to organize transactions and carry out manipulations away from the oversight of regulatory bodies.

The agency added that six suspects were arrested, including a branch manager of Ahli Bank and an employee at the Customs Authority, after they colluded with customs brokers to manipulate the transfer system and customs clearance data by submitting forged documents and papers in Basra.

The statement said the statements of the defendants who were detained were recorded, and they openly admitted to forging and manipulating documents and changing descriptions of goods in order to complete large financial transfers that amounted in Iraqi currency to the equivalent of 150 billion dinars in favor of commercial companies, in return for material benefits.

The statement reported that the suspects were referred to judicial authorities to complete legal procedures and pursue the cases filed against them.