Iraq seizes counterfeit currency in two attempts to smuggle money from Iran

BASRA — Iraq’s Border Ports Authority has announced the arrest of two Iraqi travelers in separate cases involving attempts to bring counterfeit currency into the country from Iran through border crossings in Basra and Maysan governorates.

At the Shalamcheh border crossing in Basra, authorities detained an Iraqi traveler carrying counterfeit 25,000-dinar banknotes concealed in his personal wallet. In a statement, the authority said the counterfeit money had been divided into two bundles inside his wallet.

Officials prepared a seizure report and referred the suspect, along with the confiscated currency, to the Organized Crime Directorate in Shatt Al-Arab for further legal proceedings.

The incident followed another seizure earlier Wednesday at the al-Sheib border crossing in Maysan, where authorities arrested an Iraqi traveler attempting to enter the country with counterfeit Iraqi and foreign currency. According to a separate statement, Border Ports Authority personnel and customs police discovered the counterfeit banknotes while inspecting the traveler in the arrivals hall.

The authority said officers completed the necessary legal procedures and prepared an official seizure report. The suspect was subsequently referred to the al-Sheib Customs Police Station for presentation before the competent investigative judge.

Both arrests took place Wednesday at border crossings connecting Iraq with Iran. The authority did not disclose the total value of the counterfeit currency seized in both incidents.

The arrests also come as an official source with knowledge of the matter has told 964media that Iraq will begin gradually closing its border crossings with Iran on Wednesday, Oct. 21, starting with the al-Sheib crossing in Maysan governorate, under directives from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. The source did not disclose the reasons for the decision nor how long it is expected to last. Key Iraqi border crossings with Iran were also temporarily shut in September following a drone attack on Saudi Arabia launched from Iraqi soil.
The arrest also follows similar cases in recent months. In early September, Iraq’s National Security Service said it arrested a suspect accused of counterfeiting and circulating fake currency and having links to regional networks involved in the activity. The agency said officers raided the location where the suspect was present and seized $100,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency, as well as counterfeit Iraqi dinar currency. The raid also uncovered “real estate sale and purchase contracts worth 9.5 billion Iraqi dinars,” according to the statement.

In May, police dismantled a counterfeiting network in Hilla and arrested two suspects accused of attempting to distribute fake Iraqi and U.S. currency, seizing $50,000 in counterfeit dollars and 25 million dinars in fake banknotes.

In April, the Anti-Organized Crime Directorate in Dhi Qar seized more than $50,000 in fake cash. In December 2025, the National Security Service dismantled a forgery network in Basra and arrested three suspects including a foreign national, and separately arrested a man in Kirkuk carrying $10,000 in fake $100 bills who “admitted clearly to bringing them from a neighboring country.”