The Abu Dhabi branch of Iraq’s state-owned Rafidain Bank is now at risk of being shut down after a number of financial and administrative problems were discovered, according to sources who spoke to Shafaq News.
These sources say the issues are serious enough that they could damage the bank’s reputation and weaken its operations outside Iraq. And it’s not just the UAE branch — several of Rafidain’s branches in other countries are also dealing with violations and poor management.
Because of this, officials in Iraq are calling for wide-ranging investigations to fully understand what went wrong, who is responsible, and how to protect the bank’s assets abroad before the situation gets worse.
This comes after earlier accusations made by U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson, who claimed that Rafidain Bank helped carry out financial transactions for Yemen’s Houthi movement (Ansarallah). He described the group as a “terrorist organization” and warned that he would work to block U.S. financial support for Iraq in the next budget.
Wilson also called on the U.S. Treasury to place sanctions on Rafidain Bank.
Last week, the situation became even more confusing when Iraq briefly added Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Houthis to its terrorism-finance blacklist — a move that was quickly reversed. Iraqi authorities, including the Central Bank of Iraq, later clarified that the approved blacklist only applied to people and groups connected to ISIS and al-Qaeda, not Hezbollah or the Houthis.
The Rafidain Bank issue now sits at the center of political pressure, international accusations, and internal investigations — with the fate of its Abu Dhabi branch still uncertain.
