“New sanctions will affect Iraqi banks.” Representative Mustafa Sanad reveals the reasons for hosting the governor of the Central Bank in Parliament
“New sanctions will affect Iraqi banks.” Representative Mustafa Sanad reveals the reasons for hosting the governor of the Central Bank in Parliament
2023-07-24
A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mustafa Sanad, revealed details of hosting the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, in the House of Representatives today, Monday, while it was likely that there would be new sanctions for Iraqi banks.
Sanad said in a press interview, “The Finance Committee decided today to host the governor of the Central Bank to find out the repercussions of the rapid and frightening rise in the price of the US dollar in the parallel market, and also to stand up to the sanctions that affected 14 Iraqi banks.”
He pointed out, “There is news warning of new sanctions that will affect Iraqi banks, and every penalty that comes on any Iraqi bank will cause an increase in dollar prices, and this will generate great pressure on the Iraqi state in all its government institutions, in addition to the central bank and parliament.”
A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee explained, “The exchange rate is a very sensitive issue and is subject to international factors, not local ones, or the prerogatives of the central bank governor.”
Regarding the sale of dollars through banks, a member of the Finance Committee revealed that “the central bank’s mission is monetary policy, not fiscal policy, and there is no country in the world that gives dollars directly to citizens,” noting that “the dollar is given for two needs only, the first for study, tourism and treatment, and the second to cover imports.”
The exchange rate in the parallel markets continues to record a significant increase compared to the official rate, as the capital, Baghdad, recorded today, Monday, 154,750 dinars for every hundred dollars, while the official exchange rate is 1,320 dinars to the dollar.
Last Wednesday, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks in a crackdown on Iran’s dollar transactions.
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that “the move came after the disclosure of information indicating that the targeted banks were involved in money laundering and fraudulent transactions.”
The newspaper added that “some of these operations may relate to individuals subject to sanctions,
A senior US official told the newspaper: “We have strong reason to suspect that some of these money laundering operations may benefit either individuals covered by US sanctions, or persons who may be included in the sanctions.”
And the US Treasury Department prevented four other Iraqi banks from accessing the dollar last November, and also imposed, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Iraq, stricter controls on financial transfers in the country in general.
In the past weeks, the Central Bank of Iraq had excluded 4 private Iraqi banks from the currency sale auction (namely: Al-Ansari, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Al-Qabid, and Asia) following directives and warnings from the US Treasury about these banks accused of smuggling currency.
burathanews.com
