2026-05-11T11:02:16+00:00

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Shafaq News- Baghdad

Several figures are competing for Iraq’s finance minister
post in the anticipated government formation, political sources told Shafaq
News on Monday, adding that current Finance Minister Taif Sami could remain in
office as negotiations continue among the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF)
over cabinet portfolios.

The Prime Minister-designate, Ali Al-Zaidi, asked CF parties
to grant him direct authority over the finance and interior ministries,
allowing him to personally select what he described as qualified candidates to
lead the two portfolios, the sources revealed. The request came after Al-Hikma
(Wisdom) Movement secured the finance ministry under ongoing political
agreements.

According to the sources, Mohammed Sahib Al-Darraji is
currently viewed as the leading candidate for the finance ministry, while
Rafidain Bank Director General Ali Karim Hussein has also been proposed for the
position.

The nomination of Hussein comes amid previous controversy
surrounding allegations linked to Rafidain Bank, Iraq’s largest state-owned
bank. Finance Minister Taif Sami had earlier ordered the suspension of the
bank’s director and more than 20 officials and employees over suspicions
related to alleged manipulation in US dollar sales at Baghdad International
Airport, as well as other administrative and financial violations. Later, she
reversed the suspension order and reinstated the employees under investigation,
according to an official document. Information circulating at the time suggested
that political pressure contributed to settling the case and closing the
investigation without recommendations for penalties against those accused.

One source told Shafaq News that additional allegations
linked to Rafidain Bank have circulated, including suspicions of money
laundering, waste, and mismanagement.

In August 2025, US Congressman Joe Wilson accused Rafidain
Bank, under Hussein’s management, of conducting financial transactions with
Yemen’s Houthi movement and warned that the issue could lead to the suspension
of US financial support for Iraq.

The bank’s branch in Abu Dhabi was also found to have
committed financial and administrative violations, according to the sources,
while indicators of mismanagement prompted the Central Bank of the United Arab
Emirates to impose what were described as large financial penalties on the
branch.