A recent international assessment has identified Iraq’s financial and banking infrastructure among the most vulnerable and high-risk systems globally. The findings emerged from a comprehensive survey conducted among international consultants and mid-level financial officials, which analyzed the interconnection between global banking networks and the scientific infrastructure supporting them.
The report places Iraq within the top tier of countries most susceptible to financial instability, alongside nations such as Ukraine and Nigeria. Contributing factors include Iraq’s ongoing exposure to international sanctions, its alleged role in facilitating money laundering, and its stringent regulatory environment, which collectively pose challenges to financial transparency and security.
Mahmoud Dar, the outgoing Director General of Finance in Central Iraq, acknowledged the severity of the issue. He emphasized that the country has struggled to fully transition beyond this stage of instability, with lingering debts and a constrained money supply exacerbating the situation. These structural weaknesses continue to place Iraq’s financial system at significant risk, despite efforts to stabilize and reform it.
