Iraqi militias are laundering money for Iran through credit cards
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, May 1st, that Iran-supported Iraqi militia groups have found a way to extract illegal financial resources for themselves and the Islamic Republic through Visa and MasterCard payment networks.
According to the newspaper, cross-border Visa and MasterCard transactions in Iraq were only about $50 million at the beginning of 2023, but this figure dramatically increased to $15 billion by April of the same year.
Among these, Shia militia groups, including Kata’ib al-Badr and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, have helped the Islamic Republic circumvent sanctions through what the U.S. Treasury Department has called a covert network of financial facilitators.