Ghoti Ichthus
Genesis 18:32, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Acts 5:29
Date-time of article later than post time due to time zone differences.
Guess we know where Iran got the money to pay for weapons, etc.
"Iraqi terrorist militia groups figured out how to extract illicit funds for Iran from Visa and Mastercard payment networks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
According to the report, at the start of 2023, cross-border Visa and Mastercard transactions in Iraq generated about $50 million. By April of the same year, that figure had soared to $1.5 billion.
The militias, which include Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Brigade, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, have helped the Islamic Republic avoid sanctions in what the US Treasury called a “clandestine network of financial facilitators.”
Iraq has both an official dollar exchange rate and a higher, unofficial rate. This allows individuals to buy prepaid cards in Iraq, withdraw the money elsewhere in the Middle East at Iraq’s lower official rate, and then return home to convert it into dinars at the higher rate. The process has generated gains for participants of up to 21%.
To generate these massive gains for themselves and Tehran, the militias acquired large amounts of Mastercards and Visa cards loaded with money, transported them back to the United Arab Emirates and other neighboring Gulf states, and withdrew the money, the report said.
The Treasury told the Wall Street Journal that the militias likely used the financial graft to buy weapons and finance terror operations. The cash was also likely distributed among the cardholders for their personal use.
The cardholders who participated are estimated to have made nearly $450 million in profit in 2023 alone. A source familiar with the matter said that the foreign card networks are estimated to have made about $120 million between them.
Mastercard and Visa profited from the transactions by charging at least 1% to 1.4% on cross-border transactions. US Treasury officials reportedly notified the companies of the exchanges in the fall of 2024, but it took them months to take control of the transactions.
Although the cash flow eventually decreased after the card companies reined it in, transactions still ranged from about $400 million to $1.1 billion a month until early 2025. US and Iraqi officials said that warnings to the card companies about the suspicious activity went unheeded for months.
The Treasury recently asked the Central Bank of Iraq to formally block more than 200,000 cards used by militia members. The Iraqi card issuers that partnered with the card companies were not under any sanctions, so there are no public allegations that Visa or Mastercard violated US sanctions."
Much more
www.jpost.com
Guess we know where Iran got the money to pay for weapons, etc.
How Iraqi Militias Laundered Money for Iran Through Global Payment Networks - WSJ
US and Iraqi authorities revealed a complex scheme involving prepaid cards that funneled illicit funds to Iranian-backed terror militias.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JUNE 2, 2025 10:51"Iraqi terrorist militia groups figured out how to extract illicit funds for Iran from Visa and Mastercard payment networks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
According to the report, at the start of 2023, cross-border Visa and Mastercard transactions in Iraq generated about $50 million. By April of the same year, that figure had soared to $1.5 billion.
The militias, which include Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Brigade, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, have helped the Islamic Republic avoid sanctions in what the US Treasury called a “clandestine network of financial facilitators.”
Iraq has both an official dollar exchange rate and a higher, unofficial rate. This allows individuals to buy prepaid cards in Iraq, withdraw the money elsewhere in the Middle East at Iraq’s lower official rate, and then return home to convert it into dinars at the higher rate. The process has generated gains for participants of up to 21%.
To generate these massive gains for themselves and Tehran, the militias acquired large amounts of Mastercards and Visa cards loaded with money, transported them back to the United Arab Emirates and other neighboring Gulf states, and withdrew the money, the report said.
The Treasury told the Wall Street Journal that the militias likely used the financial graft to buy weapons and finance terror operations. The cash was also likely distributed among the cardholders for their personal use.
The cardholders who participated are estimated to have made nearly $450 million in profit in 2023 alone. A source familiar with the matter said that the foreign card networks are estimated to have made about $120 million between them.
Mastercard and Visa profited from the transactions by charging at least 1% to 1.4% on cross-border transactions. US Treasury officials reportedly notified the companies of the exchanges in the fall of 2024, but it took them months to take control of the transactions.
Although the cash flow eventually decreased after the card companies reined it in, transactions still ranged from about $400 million to $1.1 billion a month until early 2025. US and Iraqi officials said that warnings to the card companies about the suspicious activity went unheeded for months.
The Treasury recently asked the Central Bank of Iraq to formally block more than 200,000 cards used by militia members. The Iraqi card issuers that partnered with the card companies were not under any sanctions, so there are no public allegations that Visa or Mastercard violated US sanctions."
Much more
How Iraqi militias siphoned billions from Visa and Mastercard for Iran - WSJ
US and Iraqi authorities revealed a complex scheme involving prepaid cards that funneled illicit funds to Iranian-backed terror militias.
www.jpost.com
