Kurdistan Region Warns Against Carrying Multiple Bank Cards
Money laundering
Kurdistan Region Security Agency warns travelers not to carry bank cards other than their own
SULAYMANIYAH — The Kurdistan Region Security Agency has warned travelers to avoid carrying multiple bank cards or trading them, saying violators could be prosecuted under anti-money laundering laws.
“No tourist is allowed to carry any bank card other than their own,” the agency, which oversees Sulaymaniyah and Halabja governorates, said in a statement Tuesday. “Otherwise, they will be charged under Law No. 39 (2015) on combating money laundering and financing terrorism.”
According to the statement, anyone found carrying bank cards that do not belong to them will face legal consequences, along with the card owners. “The traveler and the card owners are accountable under the law, and the bank cards will be confiscated and blocked.”
The agency also warned against buying or renting bank cards. “Purchasing or renting bank cards is illegal, and both the buyer and the card owner will be prosecuted,” it said. “We request that citizens protect their personal documents and prevent them from being used for this purpose.”
A similar rule went into effect at Erbil International Airport on May 10, 2023, limiting travelers to carrying only two bank cards, both registered in the traveler’s name.
In Iraq, a lucrative scheme has emerged to exploit the gap between the official currency exchange rate of 1,300 Iraqi dinars per U.S. dollar and the higher parallel rate of about 1,500 dinars per dollar. Participants load Iraqi electronic payment cards with large sums of dinars in the country, travel abroad to withdraw U.S. dollars at the official rate, then return to Iraq to sell those dollars on the parallel market.
Organized groups facilitate this practice by purchasing or renting others’ bank cards, sending couriers abroad to withdraw funds, and profiting from the rate difference. Authorities say this activity destabilizes Iraq’s financial system and further widens the gap between official and unofficial exchange rates.
On Nov. 20, 2023, the Central Bank of Iraq issued a warning on the misuse of electronic payment cards, emphasizing that offenders would face legal action and blacklisting under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law No. 39 of 2015.
On Aug. 12, 2024, Iraqi security forces dismantled an illegal network using digital payment cards to transfer money out of the country. The Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency announced the arrest of six suspects in Baghdad’s Karkh district, who were found holding 500 digital payment cards along with weapons and other materials linked to the operation.