The Central Bank Governor denies halting dollar shipments and confirms: Salaries are secured.
The Central Bank Governor denies halting dollar shipments and confirms: Salaries are secured.
2026-05-02
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, denied on Saturday that dollar shipments had stopped, stressing that transfers were continuing regularly and had not stopped, while confirming that employees’ salaries were “secured” no matter how long the oil export stoppage crisis lasts.
Al-Alaq said, during a speech he delivered at a session of the “Sin Dialogue Forum,” which was attended by a correspondent from Shafaq News Agency, that “the talk and rumors circulating about stopping dollar shipments have no relation to reality, as the Central Bank manages transfers abroad in a regular manner and they have not stopped.”
He added that “the Central Bank has worked in recent years to rebuild and regulate the processes of transferring money abroad and selling dollars, and to place them within official and transparent channels in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law.”
Al-Alaq pointed out that “cash sales of dollars are more sensitive and problematic, and they have been organized and monitored in detail within a program and controls to control the process, which has led to a decrease in the volume of cash dollar sales.”
He explained that “the Central Bank used to import about $14 billion annually in cash, but now around $4 billion is withdrawn, allocated only to travelers according to a specific mechanism, while the transfer operations carried out by the Central Bank represent about 95% of total dollar sales.”
Al-Alaq pointed out that “the last meeting with the designated president, Ali Al-Zidi, was dedicated to discussing the financial situation, especially after the main outlet for oil exports stopped, as there are no longer revenues that give the state flexibility in facing external shocks. We stressed that the government does not have broad options, and that the Central Bank cannot lend to the government.”
He added: “But there are other means, such as securities, and the bank continues to support the Iraqi state no matter how long the crisis lasts, and the disbursement of salaries continues without interruption, and the Central Bank is able to secure the salaries of employees.”
Al-Alaq continued: “There are no limits or restrictions on foreign currency transfers or sales, and the dollar is available in the parallel market for private trade and tourism purposes, while other countries in the region, such as the Turkish Central Bank, do not provide dollars to the market, but rather the market relies on its own mechanisms.”
He concluded by saying that “the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market is unofficial, and the Central Bank has set a mechanism for obtaining dollars for travel, treatment, study or other purposes, by contacting the bank and obtaining it through official channels.”
It is worth noting that US officials revealed earlier last month that the United States had blocked the transfer of a financial shipment estimated at $500 million in Iraqi oil revenues to Baghdad, attributing this to the failure of efforts to dismantle pro-Iranian factions.
The Wall Street Journal quoted the US State Department as confirming that Washington expects Iraq to take concrete steps to dismantle these groups, stressing that Baghdad’s “failure” to prevent attacks targeting US interests and its allies in the region casts a negative shadow on bilateral relations between the two countries.
shafaq.com
