International Smart Card (Qi Card)
This page sets out what the documents in this archive record about this company: the legal status on the date shown, the cases, the official registers and the sources.
Legal status as of 4 October 2026
Accused by an official body or office holder; not charged.
Also on record
- Under investigationNamed by an official body as under investigation; not charged.
What the documents say
Funds frozen and IQD 231bn recovered (August 2022). The Wall Street Journal (31 May 2025) reports that Qi Card, about half of Iraq's card market, went from about $10 million a month in card transactions in early 2023 to more than $500 million a month by early 2025 and paid salaries to more than 200,000 militia members; officials told the paper that about half of the more than 100,000 Iraqi cards Mastercard blocked in March 2025 had been issued by International Smart Card, which said it no longer provides any services to the PMF. The report makes. No charge, court ruling, sanction or official finding is on record in the sources read. No conviction of the company is recorded; the reported convictions are of individuals.
- Kind
- Company
- Roles
- Payment company that issued the loans and advances through its card system
Cases
| Case | Role | Status in this case | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qi Card / International Smart Card: IQD 231bn of duplicated pension payments for retirees abroad recovered (from 2017 to 2022) | Company | Under investigation | Funds frozen and IQD 231bn recovered (August 2022). The Wall Street Journal (31 May 2025) reports that Qi Card, about half of Iraq's card market, went from about $10 million a month in card transactions in early 2023 to more than $500 million a month by early 2025 and paid salaries to more than 200,000 militia members; officials told the paper that about half of the more than 100,000 Iraqi cards Mastercard blocked in March 2025 had been issued by International Smart Card, which said it no longer provides any services to the PMF. The report makes. No charge, court ruling, sanction or official finding is on record in the sources read. | 25 September 2026 |
| Qi Card: Pension Fund and Rafidain Bank money lent through Qi Card, IQD 5.91 trillion to about 847,000 borrowers (from 2017 to 2021) | Payment company that issued the loans and advances through its card system | Accused by an official body | Named in official findings: the Finance Ministry's audit committee (8 February 2021) found no board approvals or agreement fixing rights and duties and no reconciliation of the bank's and the company's accounts; the Board of Supreme Audit (20 April 2021) found that the company shared the returns although it invested nothing, left about IQD 8 billion of premiums unpaid to the state insurer, paid IQD 2.08 billion to a private Erbil insurer by cheques in an employee's name, and gave insufficient answers to its observations. No conviction of the company is recorded; the reported convictions are of individuals. | 1 October 2026 |
Dated events
- 8 February 2021Accused by an official bodyFinance Ministry audit committee findings
- 20 April 2021Accused by an official bodyBoard of Supreme Audit findings
Documents
- Al-Aalem Al-Jadeed (Integrity Commission statement)18 August 2022Press reportTier D
النزاهة تعلن استعادة 231 مليار دينار
Originalمصرف الرافدين يقوم بتكرار دفع الرواتب الخاصَّة بالمتقاعدين أكثر من مرَّةٍ إلى منظومة الشركة
- The Wall Street Journal (full text reprinted by To Vima)31 May 2025Press report (unnamed source)Tier C
Needing Dollars, Iran-Backed Militias Turn to Visa and Mastercard (David S. Cloud)
OriginalIraq was a minor market for Visa and Mastercard a couple of years ago, generating just $50 million a month or less in cross-border transactions at the start of 2023. ... In recent days, Treasury formally asked the Iraqi central bank to block the more than 200,000 cards used by militia members due to fraud concerns.
- Ministry of Finance: audit committee formed by ministerial order 27000/2781 of 27 December 2020 (recommendations ratified by the Minister)8 February 2021Audit reportTier A
Report on the Pension Fund and Rafidain Bank portfolios lent through International Smart Card (Qi Card)
قام مصرف الرافدين بإنشاء محفظتين الاولى خاصة بصندوق تقاعد موظفي الدولة تمول من أموال الصندوق ... لا يوجد أي اتفاق بين المصرف والشركة العالمية للبطاقة الذكية يحدد حقوق والتزامات الطرفين
- Federal Board of Supreme Audit (FBSA)20 April 2021Audit reportTier A
Letter of 20 April 2021 and audit report on the Qi Card loan portfolios, with follow-up letters (2019 to April 2021)
قيام رئيس هيأة التقاعد الوطنية بتحويل مبلغ (250) مليار دينار (مائتين وخمسين مليار دينار) قبل استحصال موافقة مجلس إدارة الصندوق [partly illegible in the document]
Articles
- 17 October 2023