Iraq’s account at the US Federal Reserve Bank..the full story
Iraq’s account at the US Federal Reserve Bank..the full story
2-12-2023
Muhammad Al-Badr
What is the most important decision that the Iraqi state can take after 2003?
This decision is to go to open accounts to receive the money from the sale of oil and to be distributed over several countries, and not to keep the only account with the US Federal Reserve.
This decision will be similar to the decision to nationalize oil in importance and need.
Those who say that Iraq cannot do that are lying to us. This saying is a justification for the helpless, and an excuse for those who are afraid of taking a decision of this magnitude.
The subject of sanctions and Chapter VII is a fabricated story, a ridiculous story that does not exist and is not possible in any way, simply because Iraq today does not pose any threat to its surroundings and the world, and the provisions of Chapter VII require the vote and approval of the UN Security Council, which means impossibility in the current international circumstances. And before all this, there is nothing that calls for such behavior, as the Iraq of today is not the Iraq of 1990, nor is the international circumstance itself.
And the issue of protecting funds is no less absurd than the previous topic.
The truth is that Iraq is no longer obligated to receive its financial revenues from the sale of oil at the US Federal Reserve.
Nothing but hesitation and not having enough courage prevents Iraq from opening other accounts with banks in China, France, Britain or any other country, in which the money from the sale of oil is deposited.
Diversifying accounts protects Iraq from the volatility of the global political situation and American blackmail.
The story of the Fed account is that the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 687 under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter in 1991.
This decision (obligates Iraq to pay compensation to Kuwait in the amount of $52.4 billion).
These compensations are taken from the money from the sale of oil according to a specific percentage and are transferred directly to Kuwait.
In 2003, the Security Council created the Iraqi Fund for Development in Resolution 1483 and imposed, according to this resolution (that the receipt of oil revenues be in a single account with the Federal Reserve in New York).
The function of this account is to “deduct a share of the oil revenues at a specified percentage and transfer it to an account supervised by the Compensation Committee,” then transfer the rest to an account for the Iraqi Ministry of Finance.
On December 15, 2010, the Security Council adopted its Resolution No. 1956, which stipulates (terminating the Iraqi Fund for Development system in 2011), meaning that Iraq is no longer tied to the US Federal Account, and it can open any account, in any country it wants.
Thus, any texts restricting Iraq to receiving oil revenues in a single account with the US Federal Reserve were cancelled.
The Security Council had no choice but to continue Iraq to pay compensation to Kuwait.
On February 22, 2022, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 2621 to liquidate the compensation account and (close it after Iraq fulfilled all its financial obligations, and thus the Compensation Committee was dissolved and the file closed forever).
Iraq’s need and obligation to this account ended in 2011, and the compensation ended in 2022, and any intimidation that opening accounts in other banks exposes it to confiscation due to companies and countries filing compensation claims. It is a miserable story, because Iraq already has accounts in specific countries whose mission is to facilitate the transfer of funds and the payment of obligations Iraq is like our bank account with the Emirates, and compensation is only done after lawsuits, evidence, and decisions are issued by specialized international bodies, not local ones.
Countries are not charitable organizations, and of course there will always be hostility and targeting, whether from America or others, but in any case, the risk of opening several accounts is much less than the risk of keeping the country’s currency and economic stability at the mercy of the American decision.
almaalomah.me
