A building boom fueled by corruption is changing the face of Baghdad

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It is a lucrative time for developers and property moguls, hailed by politicians as a sign of Baghdad’s revival. But it is also a symptom of this country’s deep-rooted corruption and widening inequality, and the vast majority of Iraqis are priced out of the market. For them, the dream of owning a home here is becoming more remote by the day, and parts of their city have grown unrecognizable.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/29/iraq-baghdad-real-estate-corruption/
 
Yet in one of the most corrupt countries in the world, real estate has become a magnet for dirty money, as high oil prices flood Iraqi markets with cash and U.S.-backed regulations on international dollar transactions limit the transfer of ill-gotten wealth abroad.

“Prices are high in part because of money laundering and corruption. When it’s hard for people to send their money outside the country, they put it into property here,” said Mohammed al-Rubaii, a spokesman for the Baghdad mayoralty.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/29/iraq-baghdad-real-estate-corruption/
 
It is a lucrative time for developers and property moguls, hailed by politicians as a sign of Baghdad’s revival. But it is also a symptom of this country’s deep-rooted corruption and widening inequality, and the vast majority of Iraqis are priced out of the market. For them, the dream of owning a home here is becoming more remote by the day, and parts of their city have grown unrecognizable.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/29/iraq-baghdad-real-estate-corruption/

Who gives a shit? That's a problem for Iraq, not the US.
 
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