Baghdad  Mustafa Akram Hantoush, an expert in financial and economic affairs, confirmed today, Tuesday (October 1, 2024), that the

Central Bank of Iraq’s control over banking companies does not solve the long-standing high dollar crisis in the parallel market. Hantoush told “Baghdad Today” that “the Central Bank’s control over the parallel exchange rate (the dinar against the dollar) is not linked to controlling banking companies or restricting the supply of the dollar in the Iraqi market, but rather linked to finding solutions to the demand in the local market resulting from trade in Iran and Syria with more than 10) Billions of dollars annually, and
the solution is through a commercial platform, goods in exchange for gold or transfers to a third country in the region.”

He added, “Millions of people travel annually to countries, such as Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Russia, to whom dollars are not sold.

A solution must be found for this matter so that these travelers are not forced to obtain dollars from the parallel market, in addition to the necessity of opening easy accounts for small merchants.” The economic expert stressed that

“the open borders with Kurdistan must be controlled, and goods such as detergents and others have very low taxes,” stressing:

“If a solution is found to these problems, the exchange rate will stabilize immediately.”

On the fourth of last July, the Central Bank of Iraq revealed a new mechanism for travelers to receive foreign currency (the dollar), which will be exclusively through the outlets of companies and banks at international airports, stressing that the goal of the new mechanism, which will enter into force on July 14, 2024, is The dollar reaches the real traveler and passes proper transactions, as well as facilitating travelers’ access to the dollar faster.

The exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar witnessed a noticeable increase during the past months, as the selling price exceeded 150 thousand for every 100 dollars.

Warning to Iraqis: new ways to steal your money and smuggle it abroad

Through the Internet and mobile phone applications, new digital banks in Iraq are beginning to steal money and smuggle it outside the country, especially with the absence of government control over the work of those banks that do not have branches on the ground.

A new loophole for money theft and a shortcut for currency smuggling that requires government oversight.

Digital banks in Iraq are another way to smuggle currency after being exploited by banks that have been subjected to sanctions and which require government monitoring and serious action towards them.

Through unsupervised electronic applications, financial transfers are carried out within these applications, without the need for paperwork or financial auditing, which facilitates the transfer process and the possibility of smuggling money in huge quantities.