Al-Alaq: The Central Bank is waging a “battle” against dollar smugglers
Al-Alaq: The Central Bank is waging a “battle” against dollar smugglers
2023-08-17
Central Bank Governor Ali Al-Alaq affirmed that Iraq has made great strides in applying restrictions on the supply of US dollars, but it is facing an uphill battle with a banking system that is not accustomed to strict control and permanent currency smugglers.
“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,” Al-Alaq said in an interview with Reuters.
He added that he had “no data on the amount of Iraqi dollars that were smuggled into Iran or other neighboring countries, including Turkey and Syria, before the US tightened regulations in November.”
Al-Alaq explained that “Iraq’s reserves are more than $100 billion, but it cannot intervene freely in the market to reduce the price due to the restrictions.”
He pointed out, “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 supervision so that we do not expose the country to any issues on this front.”
The governor of the bank pointed out that “one of the features of the informal economy to a large extent, the system was used by thousands of small companies that are not registered with the state, a phenomenon widespread in Iraq that allows them to evade taxes and customs fees.”
burathanews.com
