As British Bank agreed to pay American regulators hundreds of millions of dollars because it helped Iran evade international sanctions against it and other banks come under investigation, accused of the same crimes, the U.S. struggles to respond to news that an Iraqi bank also had similar dealings, the Boston Globe reports.

 

U.S. President Obama announced in June that the Iraq-based Elaf Islamic Bank would be barred from operating in conjunction with any American bank. According to U.S. and Iraqi government officials, the bank played a critical role in granting Iran to American dollars as its supply steadily declined due to sanctions.

 

Despite knowledge of these dealings, the Obama Administration is reticent to publicly admonish the Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki, coming on the heels of the American military occupation of the country that lasted several years, according to the Boston Globe.