Nouri Al Maliki, the Iraqi former prime minister thought to be seeking a comeback in October's elections, was days away from being sanctioned by the US government earlier this year, according to a source close to the matter.
The move was being discussed during the closing weeks of the Trump administration in January but the government transition reportedly stalled the process.
“He was so close to designation, but state mechanisms ran out the clock on him,” the source said.
The basis for the sanctions is not clear, although in recent years Mr Al Maliki has faced a growing number of corruption allegations and increasingly positioned himself in alliance with Iran-backed groups that have attacked US forces and killed hundreds of protesters.
Iraq's prime minister from 2006 to 2014, Mr Al Maliki was considered by some in Washington to be “our man in Iraq”, at one time holding regular video calls with former president George W Bush, who described him as “a good man with a difficult job”.
He has kept a relatively low profile recently, but is seeking a political return in the coming election, according to analysis by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
His new allies include an organisation linked to an Iran-backed militia called Sayyid Al Shuhada, which recently threatened US forces in Iraq.
If you look at it from what the situation was until 2011 there was a basis for viewing Maliki as ‘our man'
Kirk Sowell,
Utica Risk
While Mr Al Maliki escaped sanctions, the US in January sanctioned Faleh Al Fayyadh, the head of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), for human-rights abuses and corruption. The militia umbrella organisation is officially under the Iraqi government, but many of its groups are openly loyal to Iran.
Mr Al Fayyadh, who once served as acting minister of state for national security in Mr Al Maliki’s government, is accused of orchestrating a crackdown on anti-government protests that broke out in late 2019, in which at least 500 people were killed.
The US earlier also sanctioned several prominent commanders of Iran-backed PMF militias, including Qais Al Khazali of Asaib Ahl Al Haq, whose party Sadiqun briefly joined Mr Al Maliki’s political bloc in 2014.
Al Khazali is among the PMF commanders who have long orchestrated attacks on US forces, and in some cases Iraqi security forces.
Iran’s man in Iraq?
Mr Al Maliki repeatedly denied facilitating Iran-backed groups while in power, as billions of dollars of US reconstruction funds flowed into Iraq, but Americans were divided over the extent to which he was telling the truth.
“Maliki reiterated a vision of Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish partnership, and in my one-on-one meeting with him, he impressed me as a leader who wanted to be strong but was having difficulty,” wrote former US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley in a leaked 2006 memo.
The memo made no mention of the fact that Mr Al Maliki’s Dawa party contained an MP named Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis.
Muhandis had been accused by the US and Kuwait of orchestrating an attack on the US and French embassies in Kuwait in 1983, and would go on to become the de facto leader of the PMF until he was killed by a US drone strike in January 2020.
Mr Al Maliki once told a journalist that the evidence of Muhandis's role in the Kuwait attacks was slim.
“If we get some evidence against him, we will arrest him now,” he said.
After Muhandis was sanctioned by the US in 2009, Mr Al Maliki privately confided to the former US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker that he did not trust the Iranians, describing how Iran favoured other Iraqi groups over his Dawa party during the Iran-Iraq war, most notably the Badr Organisation, which would go on to become one of the most powerful Shiite organisations in Iraq.
His ambiguous position on Iran served Mr Al Maliki well. The US became more concerned that he was becoming an authoritarian ruler rather than a secret ally of Iran.
“If you look at it from what the situation was until 2011 there was a basis for viewing Maliki as ‘our man',” said Kirk H. Sowell, publisher of Inside Iraqi Politics.
“It is not as if the alternatives were great. One was Baqir Al Zubaydi, best known for executing Sunnis by drilling through their skulls, and Ali Al Adib was another, and [Mr Al Maliki's predecessor, Ibrahim] Jaafari another — we'd already tried him. All the alternatives appeared closer to Iran.”
Maliki and the militias
By mid-2008, Mr Maliki’s backers could point to his aggressive military operation, Charge of the Knights, to clear the radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr’s Iran-backed Jaish Al Mahdi militia from Basra.
"Charge of the Knights changed him, changed everything,” said Norman Ricklefs, an adviser with coalition and Iraqi forces at the time.
"While all kinds of military plans were being made at the operational level, which I witnessed, Maliki just went ahead and ignored them all. He made a reckless and bold move. Maliki was Churchillian in that moment, impulsive, careless, and ultimately extremely successful."
"It coloured his administration and his character from then onwards."
Mr Al Sadr had fallen out of favour with Tehran and Mr Al Maliki’s actions helped to hobble his brutal militia.
But other Iran-backed groups were rising and an increasingly powerful Mr Maliki was in the process of formalising them as political allies while he took control of Iraqi state institutions.
Days after ISIS swept through northern Iraq and seized Mosul in June 2014, Mr Al Maliki issued Cabinet Decree 301 to create the Commission for the Popular Mobilisation Forces, allowing Iran-backed militias a formal role in the fight against ISIS.
That year, he had allied with Sadiqun, the political wing of Asaib Ahl A Haq, and was allowing the militia a bigger role in the war on ISIS.
Despite being forced from office in August 2014 amid a collapse in Iraqi security, Mr Al Maliki retained powerful influence through state institutions.
"Throughout eight years in office, he appointed loyalists in every corner of the Iraqi state, says Omar Al Nidawi, a programme manager at Education for Peace in Iraq, an NGO.
"Other powerful parties have yet to replace hundreds of the directors and other 'special grade' appointees from the Maliki era. We're talking about massive patronage networks and corruption that generated many billions of dollars. That money is still floating around, and money is power," he added.
In recent years, Mr Al Maliki's allies have worked effectively to undermine prime ministers seen as close to the US, including his successor Haider Al Abadi and Mustafa Al Kadhimi, the current prime minister.
“Maliki provided Fatah [a political bloc led by the Badr Organisation] and PMF leaders with the political instinct they lost when Muhandis was killed,” Michael Knights, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said.
“Though still technically on a separate list in elections, Maliki played an optical adviser role akin to the one Ahmed Chalabi used to play for the Sadrists — the alliance builder.”
Although his growing ties with Iran-backed groups became clearer in 2014 — even as he called for US help against ISIS — Mr Al Maliki had been building strong partnerships with figures close to Tehran for years.
Fighters of the marshes
US State Department cables describe how Mr Al Maliki wanted to create loyalist militias in the south of Iraq. He chose Dagher Mousawi, the head of the resistance group Sayyid Al Shuhada following the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein, to lead this project.
The US considered Mousawi effectively an agent of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Sayyid Al Shuhada has been widely reported to facilitate the transfer of weapons and munitions across the Iranian border into Iraq and to provide fiscal and logistical support to more violently inclined groups. Recent collateral reporting suggests they may be abetting efforts to assassinate political opponents targeted by IRGC,” a 2005 cable warned.
That year, Mr Al Maliki attended an Arab League event with Mousawi in tow; Mousawi posted a picture of the trip on his Twitter account.
Cables describe how the US believed the priority was to push back against Al Sadr’s militias, who were among the main drivers of sectarian conflict.
“The US considered Maliki someone who wanted to be a leader, for good or bad and supported him during Charge of Knights,” says Joel Wing, a California-based analyst.
“They thought, ‘he's a nationalist, we've hit pay dirt.’ Things didn't change until the 2010 election and even then some still backed him.”
Mousawi’s group Sayyid Al Shuhada appears to have re-mobilised under the same name in 2012 to fight in Syria, and their commander now regularly threatens the US.
In 2014, Mousawi ended his 11-year stint as a civilian politician to lead the PMF 7th Brigade, Liwa Al Muntadhar, but died in 2019 in a car crash.
Mr Al Maliki, though six years out of office, remains a powerful champion of the PMF.
He has pushed for a law criminalising criticism of the PMF, saying that anyone who does so is following “foreign agendas”.
Iraqi analyst Sadiq Hassan argues this has now become a formalised effort by former allies of Mr Al Maliki, including Asaib Ahl Al Haq, to intimidate or kill those who criticise the PMF.
Mr Al Fayyadh, Muhandis and Al Khazali threatened to “cut off the hands” of protesters who attacked their offices during demonstrations in Basra in 2018 over poor public services and a lack of jobs — foreshadowing the bloodshed that would meet the 2019 protests.
Mr Al Maliki's new political efforts suggest he may be rekindling some of these old alliances before October’s elections, including an alliance with Mousawi’s former PMF unit.
Mr Knights and his colleague Hamdi Malik recently noted that Mr Al Maliki’s forthcoming electoral coalition will include leaders of the original Iraqi faction of Hezbollah, and Saraya Hezbollah, which is linked to Mousawi’s Liwa Al Muntadar faction, and Sayyid Al Shuhada — all original anti-Saddam resistance groups formed in the 1990s.
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
More on Quran memorisation:
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
%3Cp%3EEtihad%20Airways%20operates%20seasonal%20flights%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20Nice%20C%C3%B4te%20d'Azur%20Airport.%20Services%20depart%20the%20UAE%20on%20Wednesdays%20and%20Sundays%20with%20outbound%20flights%20stopping%20briefly%20in%20Rome%2C%20return%20flights%20are%20non-stop.%20Fares%20start%20from%20Dh3%2C315%2C%20flights%20operate%20until%20September%2018%2C%202022.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Radisson%20Blu%20Hotel%20Nice%20offers%20a%20western%20location%20right%20on%20Promenade%20des%20Anglais%20with%20rooms%20overlooking%20the%20Bay%20of%20Angels.%20Stays%20are%20priced%20from%20%E2%82%AC101%20(%24114)%2C%20including%20taxes.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
