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IRAQ'S CORRUPTION
العربية
The Ledger

Parsian Bank

This page sets out what the record shows about Parsian Bank. 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 پارسيان

$4m
asked for but refused by the Central Bank's committee from January 2013 to February 2015
Tier A

Name, licence and status

Name in English
Parsian Bank
Name in Arabic
بنك پارسيان
Type
Branch of a foreign bank (Iran)
Licence
No. 46/3/9 of 3 January 2012
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”.
Owners and managers
NameRoleShareAs ofLegal statusSource
رجاء جبار محمد
Managing director
Not stated
30 September 2026
Not charged as of the date of writingcbi.iq
Parsian Bank (Iran)(company)
بنك بارسيان
Shareholder
100%
30 September 2026
Not charged as of the date of writingcbi.iq

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

From January 2013 to February 2015 the Central Bank's committee recorded, day by day, which requests for dollars it turned down and why. Its minutes record 1 occasions on which the committee refused all or part of a request by this bank. On those occasions the bank asked for $4 million, and $4 million of it was refused.

The largest refusals

The largest refusals
DateAsked forRefusedThe reason, as the committee wrote itCategory
date unreadable$4m$4mكون المدير الاقليمي او المدير الفرع غر المرقمة 478/3/9 في 2014/02/09Other

Each reason is quoted in Arabic, in the committee's words. Where a reason is marked “punctuation adjusted”, only its punctuation was changed. The category is ours.

Source: Central Bank of Iraq, daily minutes of the committee that ran the dollar sale, from January 2013 to February 2015Tier A

All the refusals, day by day

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. 16 October 2018OFAC (US Treasury)
    Placed on the US sanctions list as a supporter of terrorism, with all its branches

    Against: Parsian Bank (including Iraq branch)

    Designated as part of the Bonyad Taavon Basij network action; the entry on OFAC's sanctions list covers "All Branches Worldwide".

    Current position: On OFAC's sanctions list; Iraq branch under Central Bank 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