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European countries have recently resumed imports of phosphate — a key ingredient in fertilizer — from Syria. The trade enriches sanctioned oligarchs, war profiteers, and the Syrian government, but has continued thanks to legal loopholes.

With the help of Saddam Hussein’s son, Waheb Tabra made a fortune smuggling cigarettes in the 1990s. Since the U.S. invasion, he has become a symbol of Iraq's corruption while dealing with everyone from top politicians to the Islamic State.

Nizar Hanna Nasri sits atop an empire spanning pharmaceuticals, liquor imports, and real estate developments. But his success was built on a far less visible foundation: A globe-spanning trade in black-market cigarettes.