Iraqi News Highlights Early Thursday Morning 8-17-23
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
Because Of The Restrictions.. Central Bank Of Iraq: We Cannot Intervene In The Market To Lower The Exchange Rate
Wed, 08-16-2023, PM 5:36 Karrar Al-Asadi 270 The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, said on Wednesday that his country has made great strides in applying restrictions on the supply of the US dollar, but it is facing an uphill battle in light of a banking system that is not accustomed to strict control and currency smugglers sticking to their activities.
“It is really a battle because the beneficiaries of this situation and those affected (by the new measures) will try in various ways to continue their illegal activities,” he added in an interview with Reuters.
Al-Alaq did not mention Iran by name, and said that he did not have data on the volume of dollars smuggled from Iraq to Iran or any neighboring country, including Turkey and Syria, before the United States tightened the rules in November 2022.
US actions aimed at imposing sanctions on Iran are a sensitive issue in a country that has long been on the front line of the rivalry between Washington and Tehran.
Al-Alaq said Iraq’s reserves are more than $100 billion,
but he cannot intervene freely in the market to lower the exchange rate due to the restrictions.
Last month, US officials said the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve blocked 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a broader campaign to smuggle dollars into Iran through the Iraqi banking system. Al-Alaq said that
the transactions that led to the sanctions took place in 2022, before the launch of a new platform aimed at improving transparency.
The Iraqi Central Bank also imposed stricter regulations on dollar transfers, requiring dealers to enter an online platform and provide detailed information about the final future of the transfers. He added that
the central bank was conducting a review of the banking sector and would implement new regulations and rules that he said would likely see some banks closed.
“It will be very normal in the coming period to see a decrease in (the number of private banks),” he said.
He said, “There are always side effects, but at the same time we have a responsibility to protect the country’s interests by trying to find the necessary means of monitoring and oversight so that we do not expose the country to any issues on this front.” https://www.non14.net/public/159368
Loyalty In Exchange For “Haram Money”… A Phenomenon Perpetuated By The “Authority Of The Parties” And Combated By Integrity Mechanisms
Politics / Localities ||Baghdad today – Baghdad In the past twenty years, corruption has dug deep roots in Iraq, and it cannot be controlled if there is no political will and consensus on that, in light of billion budgets that may not have reflected positively on the general situation in the country.
Corruption In The Iraqi State.
Al-Daami told “Baghdad Today”, Wednesday (August 16, 2023), that “with every government formation beginning, political struggles begin over positions, bodies, and special grades, all the way to public directors, and this is unquestionable evidence that it is a struggle over the benefits that the parties and their officials obtain.”.
He added, “Some of the benefits of parties and politicians are clear and exposed, while others depend on referring projects at specific rates to the influential parties, but on the other hand, there are those who do not continue in their position if they disagree with the party that adopts them.” He pointed out that
“following up on the number of arrest warrants issued against former ministers or their agents, in addition to the rest of the other positions, shows another picture of the extent of corruption,” noting that “the Integrity Commission is working well and achieved important results in the last period by opening many files on the names of the corrupt.”.
The Roots Of Corruption In Iraq
After 2003, Iraq witnessed a significant increase in the phenomenon of corruption.
Perhaps this is due to the nature of the circumstances in which it lived, especially the stage of the American occupation and the dismantling of the institutions of the Iraqi state, as well as the historical roots of corruption that formed the “first seed of corruption” to grow after 2003 for various and multiple reasons and provided the appropriate environment for the increase in rates of corruption. Corruption and its growing problem.
Integrity Mechanisms In The Fight Against Corruption
The Integrity Commission in Iraq has mechanisms and policies that differ and distinguish it from the rest of the competent authorities in combating corruption, with the presence of many constitutional and legal texts and materials that define the work of the Commission, as well as repeated demands for the Integrity Commission to be the pivotal institution in the Iraqi political system that guarantees the transparency and integrity of the political, administrative and legislative process.
The Integrity Commission is the investigative tool charged with combating corruption, and in turn drew mechanisms and policies in order to reduce the inflated rates of corruption after 2003, which are confirmed by local and international reports, which differ and intersect with each other by specifying a common percentage for the extent of corruption, despite their agreement on the exacerbation of this problem.
Years Of Peak Corruption
Officials’ estimates vary about the value of what Iraq lost as a result of corruption, between 450 to 650 billion dollars after the US invasion of the country in 2003, most of which occurred between 2006 and 2014, in which Iraq witnessed huge corruption crimes, especially in infrastructure projects and those related to the housing and health sectors. Education, roads, bridges, energy and arming the army.
The Central Bank Of Iraq Begins To Open Channels Of Financial Cooperation With India
August 16, 2023 His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr. Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, received His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of India to Iraq, Mr. Prashant Bisai.
During the meeting, they discussed
strengthening economic and banking relations between Baghdad and Delhi, and the
desire of the two parties to open bank accounts in accredited Indian banks to facilitate external transfers to cover Iraq’s imports,
which amount to about (4) billion dollars, in a way
that facilitates and speeds up transfers for Iraqi importing merchants, as well as discussing
the experience of India. In electronic payment and expanding financial inclusion to advanced levels.
In turn, His Excellency the Ambassador expressed the readiness of the concerned institutions in this field to provide support and training to the staff of the Central Bank of Iraq.
For his part, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq expressed his congratulations and blessings on the occasion of the (77th) Independence Day of the Republic of India, praising its experience in its distinguished development journey in all sectors and its attainment of an advanced economic position.
Central Bank of Iraq information Office August 16, 2023 https://cbi.iq/news/view/2402
Mesopotamia Announces The Recovery Of More Than 92 Billion Dinars From The Laggards
Thursday, August 17, 2023 Baghdad / National News Center Al-Rafidain Bank announced, today, Thursday, the proceeds of the amounts that were recovered by the laggards who refused to pay the money they owed during the month of July.
d the media office of the bank stated, in a statement received by the National News Center, that
“the refund amounts amounted to (92826379540 dinars) only ninety-two billion eight hundred and twenty-six million three hundred and seventy-nine thousand five hundred and forty dinars.” He explained that
“the bank is continuing its vigorous measures to recover the bank’s money from the laggards who have failed to pay their loans. Calling the laggards to review the bank’s branches to pay the amounts owed by them.”
The statement pointed out that “the bank is taking legal measures against those who lag behind in paying their financial installments from loans and other banking facilities, especially since there are some citizens who are reluctant to pay their monthly installments.”
The statement confirmed that “the bank is activating the law of obtaining state funds in addition to the delay fines imposed on laggards.” https://nnciraq.com/221951/
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