KTFA:
Clare: Parliamentary Finance reveals the reasons for the delay in launching the 2023 budget
10/12/2023
The Parliamentary Finance Committee explained the reasons for the delay in launching the 2023 budget, despite two months having passed since the publication of instructions for its implementation and its arrival to the ministries and governorates.
Committee member Moeen Al-Kadhimi said that last week, the Minister of Planning and the governors were hosted to discuss the delay in launching budget funding and distributing it to the ministries.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Finance was supposed to begin releasing the budget to the ministries during the next week, indicating that the ministry does not have sufficient financial liquidity to cover the launch of the budget.
He pointed out that there is a problem facing the ministry due to problems related to purchasing the dollar and the fluctuation of the exchange rate, pointing out that the Iraqi currency is stored in homes and citizens are afraid of the fluctuation of the exchange rate.
A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed that the committee will host the Federal Minister of Finance and the Regional Minister of Finance, to find out all the budget problems in general. LINK
Clare: The Central Bank of Iraq suspends the “Western Union” service for international financial transfer
10/12/2023
The Central Bank of Iraq decided, today, Thursday, to suspend the “Western Union” service for international financial transfer and until further notice.
The company explained in a notice it circulated that, in implementation of the directives of the Central Bank of Iraq, the Western Union service was suspended as of 10-12-2023 and temporarily, in order to activate modern mechanisms and technologies to verify financial transactions, which are in line with international best practices and the instructions of the Central Bank of Iraq. .
The notice addressed the company’s customers by saying: You will be notified as soon as the service is relaunched.
Last July, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks in a crackdown on Iran’s dollar transactions.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, announced last September that the bank would dispense with “foreign transfers” next year, while deciding to limit internal commercial transactions to dinars instead of the US dollar, with the exception of those delivered to travelers.
It is noteworthy that the Central Bank recently adopted a new mechanism for auctioning foreign currency, in accordance with the requirements and conditions of the Federal Bank, in order to track the dollar and stop attempts to smuggle the currency abroad. LINK
**************
Clare: A source in the Central Bank denies, via “Al-Iqtisad News,” the suspension of the “Western Union” service.
10/12/2023 Baghdad
On Thursday, a source in the Central Bank of Iraq denied reports about the suspension of the “Western Union” international financial transfer service in Iraq.
The source told Al-Iqtisad News Agency: “The Central Bank of Iraq denies this news and there is no truth to the existence of such a practice.”
The source called for “not to circulate news from unknown and incorrect sources.” LINK
