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IRAQ'S CORRUPTION
العربية
The Ledger

Bank Melli Iran (Iraq branch)

This page sets out what the record shows about Bank Melli Iran (Iraq branch). It names the owners and managers, gives the dollars the bank bought from the Central Bank in the years whose records survive, lists the requests that the Central Bank refused and describes the action that regulators took against the bank.

بنك ملي إيران

Name, licence and status

Name in English
Bank Melli Iran (Iraq branch)
Name in Arabic
بنك ملي إيران
Type
Branch of a foreign bank (Iran)
Licence
No. 2650/3/9 of 28 September 2005
Legal status
Under sanctions
Regulatory measures
Barred from dollar dealing by the Central Bank (January 2016); under Central Bank guardianship

Ownership

The Iraq Securities Commission page names no shareholder with about 10 per cent or more. The shareholder tables of the annual reports are not yet in the record.

Owners and managers

Being listed here records an ownership stake or a post at the bank. It is not an allegation. Next to each name is the exact legal status. Where the encyclopedia holds a record of the name, the status comes from that record. Otherwise it reads “Not charged as of the date of writing”.

No owners or managers are recorded for this bank yet.

Dollars bought from the Central Bank

No purchases by this bank appear in the surviving records from 2012 to 2020.

What the Central Bank refused

The committee's surviving minutes, from January 2013 to February 2015, record no refusal for this bank.

Enforcement actions

  1. 8 January 2016Central Bank of Iraq
    Barred from the currency window and from dealing in dollars

    Against: Bank Melli Iran (Iraq branch); Parsian Bank (Iraq branch); Islamic Cooperation Bank for Investment (Islamic Regional Cooperation Bank, Iraq branch); plus about 60 exchange ("intermediation") companies, mostly Nineveh/Anbar/Kirkuk, and Al-Nibal Al-Arabia money-transfer company

    Effective date printed in the Central Bank's list as 8 January 2016 for the three Iranian-linked bank branches and most listed exchange companies.

    Current position: In the Central Bank's list as of 4 February 2024; Bank Melli licence reportedly revoked February 2024 (Reuters, 9 February 2024)

    Original
  2. 31 January 2024 (date of the Central Bank's document; reported on 8 February 2024)Central Bank of Iraq
    Licence withdrawn

    Against: Bank Melli Iran (Iraq branch)

    The Central Bank cancelled the branch licence citing losses, limited activity and "its inclusion in international sanctions" (Reuters quoting a Central Bank document).

    Current position: The Central Bank's page lists branch under guardianship and barred from dealing in dollars

    Original
  3. Status as displayed on 25 September 2026 (the dates of imposition are not shown)Central Bank of Iraq
    Guardianship, liquidation or judicial receivership, as marked on the Central Bank's bank lists

    Against: Guardianship (وصاية): North Bank; Al-Wed (Al-Wifaq) Islamic; Zain Iraq Islamic; Al-Taif Islamic; Bank Melli Iran (Iraq); Parsian (Iraq). Liquidation (تصفية): Babylon Bank; Islamic Cooperation Bank (Iran); MEAB; Fransabank; BankMed; Intercontinental Bank of Lebanon. Judicial receivership (حراسة قضائية): Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank; Dijlah & Furat Islamic.

    Status marks printed next to bank names on the Central Bank's lists of banks; also "(ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار)" marks for banks barred from dealing in dollars.

    Current position: As displayed

    Original

Sources

The documents behind this page, with the words quoted from each.
  1. Central Bank of IraqAccessed 25 September 2026Tier B
    المصارف الاهلية المحلية (Private local banks: licence numbers/dates, managers, status marks)
    الأقليم التجاري للاستثمار والتمويل ( اميرالد سابقا ) ... 408/3/9 2007/3/1 | الهدى ( ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار ) ... 136/3/9 2008/1/14 | مصرف بابل ( تصفية ) ( ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار ) ... المصفي، د.أحمد عباس أحمد | دار السلام للأستثمار ( حراسة قضائية ) | الشمال للتمويل والاستثمار ( وصاية ) | الطيف الإسلامي للإستثمار… Read the rest والتمويل ( وصاية )( ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار ) | المال الإسلامي للإستثمار ( ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار ) ... 845/3/9 في 2018/12/9
    (punctuation adjusted)

    Translation: Region Trade Bank for Investment & Finance (formerly Emerald) ... licence 408/3/9 of 1 Mar 2007 | Al-Huda (barred from USD dealing) ... licence 136/3/9 of 14 Jan 2008 | Babylon Bank (liquidation) (barred from USD) ... liquidator Dr Ahmed Abbas Ahmed | Dar Es Salaam (judicial receivership) | North Bank (guardianship) | Al-Taif Islamic (guardianship)(barred from USD) | Al-Mal Islamic (barred from USD) ... licence 845/3/9 of 9 Dec 2018

    Original
  2. Central Bank of IraqAccessed 25 September 2026Tier B
    فروع المصارف الأجنبية التجارية والاسلامية (Foreign bank branches)
    ملي ايران ( وصاية ) ( ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار ) ... 2650/3/9 2005/9/28 | بنك بارسيان ( وصاية ) ( ممنوع من التعامل بالدولار ) ... 46/3/9 2012/1/3 | بنك مياب ش.م.ل ( تصفية ) ... 11724/3/9 2014/8/7 | فرنسبنك ( تصفية ) | البحر المتوسط ( تصفيه ) | إنتركونتيننتال لبنان ( تصفية )
    Original
  3. Central Bank of Iraq23 October 2025Tier A
    النشرة الإحصائية السنوية / Annual Statistical Bulletin (2024 data; PDF created 23 Oct 2025), banks' establishment year, total assets, paid-up capital (pages 116 to 117) and ISX listing table (p.113)
    Region Trade Bank for Investment 2007 1,051,981 300,000 مصرف الاقليم التجاري( اميرالد) | AL-Huda Bank 2008 412,604 250,000 | Erbil Bank 2010 | International Development Bank 2011 | Hammurabi Commercial Bank 2020 | Ur Islamic Bank 2018 334,815 250,000
    Original