Maliki orders probe into Trade Bank of Iraq

Iraq's prime minister has ordered a judicial investigation into reports of "violations" at one of the nation's biggest banks, the state-owned Trade Bank of Iraq, his office said on Thursday. The move followed a report by an official committee set up by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, which had detected the irregularities, Maliki's office said in a statement.
"The report confirmed the existence of financial violations which could go as far as corruption," Ali al-Moussawi, media adviser to the prime minister, told Reuters. A spokesperson for the bank said it would issue a formal statement later. Trade Bank of Iraq was set up in 2003 after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. It has been involved in financing trade and investment aimed at supporting reconstruction in the war-ravaged Opec oil producer. Maliki, who visited the bank's headquarters in Baghdad on Thursday, is facing growing popular discontent over corruption and poor public services which has led to street protests this year against his government.
With 14 branches across the country, the bank in May reported total assets of $15 billion in 2010, a 16 percent increase from 2009. It reported its profits increasing last year by 18 percent to $361 million. An Iraqi banking source said the violations detected related to billions of dinars of "irrecoverable bad debts" owed by Iraqi companies to the bank. Allegations included poor administration and non-compliance with banking regulations.