Iraq launches Visa Direct service to combat corruption, illicit funding
this is in the Kurdish news 21 seconds is the best part imo
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In a bid to curb money laundering, illicit funding, and the smuggling of dollars out of the country, the Visa Direct services were announced in Baghdad earlier this week.
The event was organized jointly by the First Iraqi Bank (FIB) and Visa Global.
Visa Direct, is a money transfer service aimed at transforming global money movements between Iraq and the rest of the world.
“This represents a remarkable development in Iraq. The Iraqi Prime Minister is pleased because the system and program introduced by FIB will play a crucial role in curbing money laundering and God forbids the flow of funds to terrorist activities and other illicit purposes,” said Ala Talabani, vice chairwoman of the board of directors at FIB, told Rudaw.
One of the contributing factors to the instability of the Iraqi dinar is the absence of an electronic banking system. The Iraqi central government is actively pursuing an e-economy, partnering with companies to transition from the traditional paper-based economy.
“The central bank’s current plan focuses on enabling the government to adopt e-payment methods, reducing the reliance on paper currency and transitioning to an e-economy. While Visa and MasterCard are currently in use within Iraq, there is a need to promote their efficient, transparent, and cost-effective online usage for international transactions,” stated Ali Mohsen al-Alaq, Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI).
Most civil servants in Iraq receive their salaries through their accounts. In the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs alone, over 300,000 individuals receive electronic payments.
“We have agreements with several electronic payment companies to utilize credit cards and MasterCard for social welfare recipients with disabilities. Visa Direct will undoubtedly contribute to extending the advantages of electronic payments for all,” mentioned Ahmed al-Asadi, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.
Visa Direct partners link accounts with over five billion users globally, enabling the exchange of money in more than 160 different currencies.
Visa Direct eliminates the need for lengthy waits to withdraw or send money abroad.
The Iraqi dinar continues to lose value against the US dollar despite ongoing efforts from the federal government to control the instability
The depreciation of the Iraqi dinar has been attributed to the smuggling of dollars out of the country, mainly to neighboring Iran.
The US in July banned transactions with 14 Iraqi banks for allegedly violating its rules. The move further dropped the value of the Iraqi currency.
Sudanese Advisor: The White House will make a decision regarding Iraq’s funds in the Federal Bank
The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed on Tuesday that the White House will renew the Federal Bank’s authorization to deposit Iraq’s funds from oil exports next March, despite the fact that the Iraqi balances in the Federal Bank will be frozen.
Saleh said, in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, that “the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq have been subject to the diversification rule since 2006, and represent the investment portfolio of the monetary authority.”
He added, "These reserves vary, according to the international standard investment guides for reserves issued by the International Monetary Fund, between various currencies such as the euro, monetary gold, the pound sterling, the Chinese yuan, and the Japanese yen, in addition to the US dollar."
The Sudanese financial advisor explained, “These currencies are in different proportions, and according to the weight of the foreign currency in Iraq’s foreign trade,” stressing, “There is no objection to intensifying diversification into other currencies in addition to the dollar, which essentially represents the currency of oil revenues.”
He continued his speech, saying: “Based on Security Council Resolution 1483 issued in May 2003, the principle of accumulating oil revenues in an account for oil receipts at a global bank was approved, and the Federal Reserve Bank in New York was chosen for this purpose.”
Saleh stated, “This account was used to collect Kuwait war compensation amounting to 5%, and it was taken from the revenue from the export of every single barrel of oil or any products, if any,” adding, “The oil receipts account and the reserve account in dollars are still subject to protection according to the White House presidential order.” Which is renewed annually every year in the month of May.
He stressed, "Most of the issue relates to the aforementioned UN Security Council resolution regarding the oil receipts account opened in dollars at the Federal Reserve Bank."
During the current period, America has worked to destroy the Iraqi currency by imposing sanctions on Iraqi banks and banning the dollar under many pretexts, which in one way or another led to a severe financial crisis in the Iraqi markets.
An American official from Erbil: Passing the oil and gas law is a priority for Washington
The new US consul in Erbil, Mark Straw, confirmed on Tuesday that addressing the revenue problem and passing the oil and gas law will be Washington’s priorities and agenda in Kurdistan.
A statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the regional government, said, “The Acting Minister of Electricity and Natural Resources, Kamal Muhammad Salih, received today the American Consul General in the Kurdistan Region, Mark Straw.”
The statement added, "The Minister of Electricity and Natural Resources thanked the United States of America for its role in resuming oil exports to the Kurdistan region, following up on solving oil and gas problems, expanding investment, and approving the federal oil and gas law with the Kurdistan region."
In turn, the American Consul confirmed, “We are closely following the process of resuming oil exports and we know that the suspension of oil has had a negative impact on revenues and citizens, and that addressing the revenue problem and passing the oil and gas law will be among the priorities of Washington’s policy and agenda.”
He expressed his "happiness with investing in the electricity, energy and oil sectors."
The Parliamentary Finance Committee called on the leaders of the political blocs to hold an emergency session of the House of Representatives regarding the rise in the price of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar.
Committee member Jamal Cougar said, in a press statement, that “there are many reasons for the rise in the dollar, including the failure to spend the budget in the required manner so that it is not exploited by the parties participating in the elections,” noting that “there is a will that wants to thwart the {SWIFT} system on the part of the influential parties.” What he said.
He pointed out that "other reasons are the many complications in the way of companies, investors, traders, and private sector people to obtain the dollar from the platform, in addition to the mafia’s control over the dollar platform through which it is spent."
Koger pointed out “the political concern about the repercussions of the Gaza war on the entire region, and the Iraqi position on the events may lead in the future, if it engages in the conflict, to repercussions that may be more severe,” stressing that “the solution lies in disbursing the budget, providing very many facilities to investors, and simplifying government procedures to obtain the dollar.” In addition to striking mafias and limiting their influence and control over banks.”
The parliamentary finance member called for holding an emergency session in the presence of the leaders of the political blocs and specialists and informing them of the dangers of not implementing the SWIFT system and its repercussions on the political, economic, and even security and social dimensions.
The Central Bank allows Iraqi banks to import foreign currency and requires them to meet 5 conditions (document)
The Central Bank allows Iraqi banks to import foreign currency and requires them to meet 5 conditions (document)
The Central Bank of Iraq decided, on Wednesday, to allow Iraqi banks to import foreign currency according to 5 conditions.
It was stated in a letter sent by the Central Bank of Iraq to the licensed banks and obtained by Shafaq News Agency, “Based on the requests received to the bank, and in order to provide the required flexibility to banks operating in Iraq, it was decided to allow you to import foreign currency from outside Iraq while adhering to the following: -
1- The amounts will be used for the purposes of meeting Ziyankum’s requests from duly registered companies, organizations and bodies, and individuals working for foreign companies or institutions who receive incoming remittances from outside Iraq.
2- Submit a request to the Central Bank of Iraq (Banking Control Department) that includes the quantity required to be entered along with the details of the shipment.
3- Payments must be entered exclusively through air ports.
4- Your commitment to register the serial numbers of these shipments and provide the Banking Control Department with them and the data of their recipients later.
5- Providing the Central Bank with the name of the foreign shipping company along with a copy of the license granted to it in its country.
The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed its continued provision of foreign currency to meet customer requirements and in accordance with instructions and controls in this regard.
Through travelers... new controls for declaring funds leaving and entering Iraq
On Tuesday, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Office issued a new decision regarding money and currencies carried by travelers.
The office stated in a statement received by Al-Iqtisad News, “Based on the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law No. 39 of 2015 related to obligating every person upon entering or leaving Iraq to declare, upon request from a representative of the General Authority of Customs, the money, currencies, or tools he carries.” Money that is negotiable to the bearer or transferred inside or outside Iraq through a person, postal service, shipping service, or by any other means.
He added, "The measure comes to reduce the risks of bringing money in and out across the Iraqi border and exploiting that for money laundering or terrorist financing operations."
I think the zain cards are still off
What does Blinken have to do with the rise in the dollar? A source in the Central Bank reveals the “tricks” of sailors
“And the banks hold the currency"
Sources in the Central Bank of Iraq said, on Tuesday, that the continuous rise in the exchange rate is due to speculators in the currency market collecting large amounts of dollars, after they spread news related to the repercussions of the US Secretary of State’s visit to “scare people,” while they admitted that the bank’s measures did not prevent... These “sailors” who manipulate the market confirmed that a number of banks are trying to keep dollar transfers to exchange them after the end of the current year in dinars and at the official exchange rate.
the details:
The US dollar continues to rise against the Iraqi dinar, reaching unprecedented levels over the past two days, for a number of reasons.
The direct reasons for the increase are summarized, according to various sources, with new procedures related to stopping some electronic financial transactions under scrutiny, including the “Western Union” service through the “Zain Cash” application.
There are other reasons, related to what speculators did when they rumored that the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Iraq would raise prices to unprecedented levels, with the scarcity of the dollar in the local market, in addition to the approaching date of adopting the official price for incoming remittances in dollars at the beginning of next year.
The dollar rose rapidly over the past two days to reach the level of 168 thousand dinars per note, compared to 132 thousand as the official price approved by the Central Bank.
Speculators try to store foreign currency to sell it later at high prices.
This rise was also aided by a number of secondary reasons represented by the continued scarcity of the dollar in banks that refrain from disbursing customer transfers and deposits or even processing travellers’ transactions.
Banks continue to deliver to customers relatively small amounts of their dollar balances to encourage them to receive them next year in Iraqi dinars and at the official rate to benefit from them under the pretext that the banks do not obtain their balances from the Central Bank, which denies this matter.
source at the Central Bank:
During the past two days, the price of the dollar has risen, after we took new measures with financial transfer companies, such as “Western Union,” which stopped its transactions through the “Zain Cash” application for auditing.
The smuggling of electronic cards is increasingly continuing, as they are filled in local currency and at the official rate to withdraw money from them outside Iraq in dollars and return it here to sell it at the market price.
Most speculators are betting on an increase in the exchange rate during the coming period due to the approaching end of the fiscal year and the approaching date of approving the official rate in banks for incoming remittances in dollars, that is, paying them to those entitled to them in Iraqi dinars and at the official rate at the beginning of next year.
The issue is now outside the control of the Central Bank because it relates to two other direct parties, whose activities the new measures did not succeed in restricting. The first is represented by speculators who found a large trade in the dollar that provides them with huge sums of money through speculation and smuggling, and the second is the banks, which in turn are trying to exploit the crisis to their advantage at the expense of customers.
The speculators, who have come to be known locally as “sailors,” are making huge gains due to smuggling and speculating with the dollar. They want to exploit the crisis to the fullest extent to achieve greater gains.
Speculators smuggle the dollar by selling it and crediting its price to fill electronic cards at the official rate, then withdrawing this money outside Iraq and returning it in the form of “dollar” currency or goods to be disposed of at the parallel rate.
Banks also have a hand in the matter, by refraining from delivering deposits or transfers to customers in dollars and forcing them either to receive only a small portion of them or to wait until the beginning of next year to receive them in the local currency so that the bank keeps the dollar with it.
Some bank employees also try to exploit the dollar allocated to travelers in their banks by giving it to their acquaintances to benefit from it at the expense of other customers.
Hazem Hadi - economic expert:
The issue is primarily related to supply and demand, and with the smuggling operations continuing without control due to the need of countries neighboring Iraq for large amounts of Iraqi dollars, in addition to the US Federal Reserve transferring amounts less than Iraq’s actual need due to Iraq’s lack of commitment to import mechanisms and others, things are moving in this direction.
There are many speculators who try to exploit any opportunity to raise the exchange rate to benefit from it, and therefore the price rose after the visit of the US Secretary of State, considering that many commentators linked the visit of the US Secretary to the dollar crisis, even if there was no talk about this issue.
Speculation will keep the price of the dollar high if there are no real measures to solve the problem, including controlling electronic cards and providing the necessary liquidity of foreign currency in the market.
The Central Bank of Iraq resumes the sale of gold bullion and coins via an electronic platform
The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed that government and private banks can apply to buy gold bullion and coins via (an electronic platform designated for this purpose), indicating that their sale will be in accordance with the instructions and controls issued by the Central Bank of Iraq.
Central Bank of Iraq
Information Office
7- November 2023
Deputy: The judiciary is investigating the general director of the Central Bank for manipulating the dollar
![[article_title_text]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj5a4SsC2r3Lrj0TtOCDrULEKGmVI054WIOIQJNF_zvCSDCYeBLCXkV2n2H5HedFWWyXL_6AKKsp1HGgMwxubfqRaVxJpTmH0-kMb5Sj3nZpagMKOX-ZzcbQ8rXwd5FY9NKGAgmgCE7uU0s_cNqDgh8DJgAMvgen0N2witlLqhbcvFk8ESpWm5C=s0-d-e1-ft)
A member of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives, Yousef Al-Kalabi, revealed today, Monday, an investigation being conducted by the Iraqi judiciary with the Director General of the Central Bank. Due to manipulation of dollar prices.
Economist: The dollar exchange rate will be equal to the government price early next year
Academic and economic expert Khaled Haider expected, on Tuesday, that the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar on the black market would stabilize in parallel with the government pricing, starting next year.
Haider said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, “The global political situation is directly linked to the financial and economic situation of the region, and the recent events in Gaza and the accusations directed at Iran of supporting the Hamas movement, are all reasons that make us expect that the rise in the price of the dollar is to restrict Tehran because Iraq is an important economic region for the neighbor.” Eastern Province and most of the foreign currency goes there.”
He pointed out that "administrative and financial corruption in Iraq plays a major role in the exchange rate difference, especially those who benefit from this difference, which prompts the Central Bank of Iraq to pump large amounts of dollars into the currency auction, ranging from 200 to 250 million dollars daily to cover the market’s need for currency, in While the actual daily need ranges between $190 to $200 million, the bank is pumping more than that in an attempt to control the exchange rate.”
Haider stated, “Near-term expectations may be inaccurate, but it is expected, and according to a scientific economic reading, that the price of the dollar in the markets will approach the government pricing at the beginning of next year after the implementation of the Central Bank of Iraq’s decision to ban financial transactions in anything other than the Iraqi dinar, and this will make the Iraqi dinar More powerful in local markets.
Regarding the impact of the fluctuation of the dollar exchange rate on the citizen, the economic expert confirmed that this “reflected negatively on the citizen, as today the exchange rate of 100 dollars reached more than 164 Iraqi dinars, especially if we take into account that until the year 2020 the official exchange rate was 118 thousand dinars compared to 100 One dollar, while it currently ranges above 160 thousand dinars. Certainly, this disparity is reflected in the prices of consumer goods, since Iraq is a consuming country.”
Earlier today, Shafaq News Agency correspondent said that dollar prices fell with the closure of the main Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges in Baghdad, recording 165,250 dinars against 100 dollars, while prices this morning were 166,000 dinars against 100 dollars.
No comments:
Post a Comment