Always, always follow the money

It is the lifeblood of terrorism. If you did nothing but concentrate on sources of funding for terrorist groups, and on what nation-states do to secure energy supplies, you wouldn't miss too many important things in the world.

Close to a dozen companies with ties to Iraqi militias backed by Iran have been funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars from Iraq’s state funds to political groups, an independent watchdog announced in a recent report.

Up until now, 700 million dollars have been illegally transferred to the political groups allied to Tehran, the Monitoring and Watchdog Organisation announced.

The findings by the watchdog’s Treasury Committee were first reported on Tuesday in the weekly Dar-ol-Islam, the political journal of the Islamic Party of Iraq.

Eleven front companies were being used by the militias to receive state funding and equipment which was then being sold off.

The report also claims that the 11 companies were also being used to gather intelligence on government operations.

Three of the companies were based in Amman; one was based in Damascus; and the other seven were based in Dubai, Sharjeh, and Kuwait.

The report found that the front companies were being run by a number of officers in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) who carried Iraqi passports.

The findings show that the companies had managed to sign several key agreements since becoming operational and had opened up bank accounts in Tehran and London.