‘Billions of dollars’ smuggled out of Iraq during Maliki’s rule

Al Arabiya reports :

The Iraqi central bank has taken legal action against several banks and customers who went against official instructions regarding the sale of hard currency between from 2012 to 2014, during former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s rule, the Anadolu news agency reported on Sunday. The Central Bank said in a statement to Anadolu that along with the  legal proceedings taking place, “heavy fines are being collected,” noting that “the bank’s audit teams are currently working on such actions in coordination with judicial authorities on financial irregularities.”

The statement comes only two days after the release of official documents from the Finance Committee in the Iraqi parliament which exposed the smuggling of billions of dollars out of Iraq through a number of banks and financial companies between 2006 and 2014 when Maliki was in power.