Iraq’s Olympic Committee president hands over duties after US sanctions

BAGHDAD: The head of Iraq’s Olympic Committee has temporarily assigned his vice president to manage affairs while his lawyers address the US sanctions against him for alleged ties with Iran.
Last month, the US Treasury announced sanctions against Aqeel Muftin, accusing him of managing an Iraqi commercial bank associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force.
In a statement Friday, Iraq’s Olympic Committee said that per Muftin’s “initiative... first vice president Abdul Salam Khalaf has been temporarily authorized to oversee Olympic affairs until the issue is resolved.”
The committee also added it had notified the International Olympic Committee more than two weeks ago.
According to the statement, Muftin denies the accusations against him and has assembled a team of lawyers to pursue his case with the US Treasury.
The US Treasury accused Muftin and his brother Ali of having “close relationships with senior intelligence officials of the IRGC and help(ing) generate and transfer funds for militias in Iraq that support the IRGC-QF.”
Iraq’s government criticized last month the sanctions which also targeted the Al-Muhandis company, a firm with links to the Hashed Al-Shaabi — former paramilitary units that have been integrated into the regular security forces.