Tishwash: Iraqi dollar smuggling returns to the forefront.. Central Bank Governor “beautifies” the bleak picture
Economic researcher, Ziad Al-Hashemi, said that the Central Bank of Iraq suddenly punished 49 Iraqi companies on charges mostly related to smuggling and money laundering through foreign transfers, despite all previous assurances that transfers have become immune to smuggling.
Al-Hashemi considered in a post on the “X” platform, which was followed by “Al-Jarida”, that “this is a procedure that confirms that the Iraqi dollar smuggling system is still very active, and that the Central Bank Governor’s talk about the compliance rate reaching 95% is just rhetoric to beautify the bleak image of the Iraqi banking system.”
He explained that “the 49 companies that were punished are companies operating in various commercial, industrial and service sectors, and this confirms that we are facing a dangerous, broad system that has penetrated the entity of the Iraqi economy and market like cancer!”
He pointed out that “the banking system in Iraq is still heavily penetrated by smuggling and money laundering systems and support for sanctioned entities, and after all these years and promises, it has become not unlikely that there is real collusion and collaboration between the official Iraqi banking system and those smuggling systems.”
He continued, “On the other hand, we are waiting for the Syrian documents that will arrive that reveal the size of the illegal trade and the movement of smuggling dollars from Iraq, which the Assad regime used to live on. Then we will learn the details of one of the most important unknown parts of the process of smuggling Iraqi money, which began draining Iraq in 2004 and continues to this day.”
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Tishwash: Iraq out of the list of major countries holding US bonds
The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that Iraq is no longer a major foreign holder of US bonds.
Shafaq News Agency reviewed the Treasury report for September, which showed that Iraq was not among the top 20 countries holding US bonds, after it was ranked among the top holders last year with a holding of $32.6 billion.
The report indicated that “Japan topped the list of major countries in holding US bonds, with holdings amounting to $1.123 trillion, followed by China in second place with holdings amounting to $772 billion, while the United Kingdom came in third with $764 billion, the Cayman Islands in fourth place with $420 billion, Luxembourg in fifth place with $417 billion, and Canada in sixth place with $370 billion.”
The report explained that Saudi Arabia was the only Arab country that maintained its position among the 20 largest holders of US bonds, as its holdings amounted to $143.9 billion.
The report indicated that the total holdings of US bonds by countries around the world in September amounted to 8 trillion and 872 billion dollars.
US bonds are a type of debt instrument issued by the US government to raise money, and many countries buy them as a safe investment.
In the past years, many Arab and foreign countries, including Iraq, owned large amounts of these bonds, and over time, Iraq’s holdings of US bonds decreased until it left the list of the 20 largest countries holding these bonds.
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Clare: Iraq and Jordan sign a 5-point joint statement, including support for the outcomes of the Aqaba meetings
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani and his Jordanian counterpart Ahmed Al-Safadi signed a joint statement of five points today, Tuesday, including support for the outcomes of the Aqaba meetings on Syria and support for efforts aimed at stopping the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip.
The correspondent of the Iraqi News Agency (INA) said: “A joint statement was issued from the official talks held by Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani and his Jordanian counterpart Ahmed Al-Safadi, in the presence of members of the Permanent Bureau in the House of Representatives, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the head of the Jordanian-Iraqi Parliamentary Brotherhood Committee, and members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives representing heads and members of parliamentary committees and blocs.
He added, “Al-Safadi appreciated Al-Mashhadani’s visit to the Kingdom as his first official visit since assuming the presidency of the Parliament in Iraq, and the talks concluded with the signing of a joint statement that stated:
First – Strengthening coordination between Jordan and Iraq; to confront the challenges imposed by the circumstances of the region, supporting the brothers in Syria and respecting their will and the necessity of protecting the security of Syria and its citizens, preserving the unity of their lands and ensuring the representation of all their components in the political process, and supporting the outcomes of the meetings hosted by the Jordanian city of Aqaba regarding the situation in Syria.
Second: Enhancing the prospects of Jordanian-Iraqi economic cooperation, removing any obstacles that hinder this, and organizing mutual visits of parliamentary committees and chambers of industry and commerce in both countries, which contributes to opening investment windows in various fields, working to establish cultural and educational cooperation agreements, and benefiting from mutual experiences in the sectors of agriculture, energy and construction.
Third: The importance of completing the project to extend the oil pipeline from Basra to Aqaba, which is considered an economic artery for transportation for the benefit of the two countries, and working to support various joint bilateral and tripartite projects with our brothers in Egypt.
Fourth: Supporting all efforts aimed at stopping the brutal Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip, rejecting attempts to displace our brothers in the Strip and the West Bank, working to double efforts to deliver relief supplies to the Strip, rejecting all forms of extremist actions by settlers against our brothers in various Palestinian territories, and rejecting the violations practiced against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
Fifth: Coordinating joint parliamentary positions between the Iraqi and Jordanian Houses of Representatives, based on a long and extended history of solid fraternal relations between the two countries and peoples, in a way that contributes to achieving common interests and defending the nation’s issues.”
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After a sudden recession due to Syria.. Expectations of the return of the Iraqi market movement soon
Time: 2024/12/16 23:19:40 Read: 2,184 times {Economic: Al Furat News} An economic expert expects the market to return to activity next week after a temporary recession due to events in the region.
Salah Nouri told Al Furat News Agency that “the reasons for the recent economic recession in the markets are due to the news circulating about the possibility of US sanctions on the external transfer system, which created fears among citizens and hesitation in buying.”
He added, “The situation may change next week and demand for buying will increase.”
The parliamentary finance committee ruled out on Monday that the Iraqi economy would be affected by the situation in Syria or the dollar exchange rate in the local market, noting that “the government and the central bank have taken several important measures to confront the security and economic challenges in the country, especially in light of the deteriorating situation in Syria.”
On the second of this month, the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, described the country’s monetary position as “very excellent” despite the conditions in the region in terms of controlling inflation and the high adequacy of foreign reserves.
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An Economic Expert Warns Of A Rise In The Dollar Exchange Rate In Iraq In The Coming Days
Economic expert Nasser Al-Tamimi warned, of a rise in the dollar exchange rate in Iraq in the coming days.
Al-Tamimi said in a press statement, “There are real fears in the Iraqi market of the continued rise in the dollar exchange rate after the suspension of the platform by the Central Bank of Iraq,” indicating that “this matter will constitute a shock, especially at the beginning of implementing the decision and will lead to a rise in the dollar, to increase demand for it in the parallel market.”
He added that “after the platform is stopped, most traders, especially small ones, will depend on the parallel market to finance their foreign trade, while continuing to finance trade with Turkey in dollars, through illegal means,” noting that “this is what will lead to the rise, and therefore practical steps must be taken to prevent this by the country’s monetary authority, and urgently.”
The Central Bank of Iraq revealed on Wednesday (September 4, 2024) the mechanism for ending the electronic platform for foreign transfers, while indicating that the placement of foreign transfer operations and meeting requests for the dollar are on sound paths and consistent with international practices and standards.
The bank said in a statement that “the electronic platform for foreign transfers managed by the Central Bank of Iraq began at the beginning of 2023 as a first phase to reorganize financial transfers in a way that ensures proactive oversight of them instead of subsequent oversight by the Federal Reserve auditing daily transfers.
This was an exceptional measure as the Federal Reserve does not usually do this, and a gradual shift was planned towards building direct relationships between banks in Iraq and foreign correspondent and approved banks, mediated by an international auditing company to conduct pre-audit of transfers before they are executed by correspondent banks.”
He added that “during the year 2024 and until now, 95% of the transfer process from the electronic platform to the mechanism of correspondent banks directly between it and Iraqi banks has been achieved, which means that only about 5% of it remains within the platform, which will be transferred using the same mechanism before the end of this year and according to the plan,”
explaining that “some expectations about potential impacts on the exchange rate and transfer operations are baseless, because the process will not be sudden or in one batch at the end of this year, but rather it was originally achieved during the past period with effort and careful follow-up, except for the remaining small percentage that will be completed in the coming short period.”
He stressed that “trade with the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India and China represents about 70% of Iraq’s foreign trade as (imports), which prompted the Central Bank of Iraq to find channels for transfer in euros, Chinese yuan, Indian rupees, and Emirati dirhams, through accredited correspondent banks in those countries, and (13) Iraqi banks have actually begun conducting transfer operations with a pre-audit mechanism that has been agreed upon and approved in addition to transfers in dollars.”
He continued: “With the provision of channels for personal transfers for legitimate purposes and external purchases through electronic payment channels and international money transfer companies and cash sales to travelers, and the payment of cash dollars for incoming transfers to the parties and purposes specified in the Central Bank’s published instructions.”
The Central Bank of Iraq stressed that it “put foreign transfer operations and meeting dollar demands on sound tracks consistent with international practices and standards and the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law.”
Explaining that “providing the aforementioned channels for all purposes at the official dollar price makes this price the true indicator of economic practices, which is proven by the reality of price stability and control of inflation, and any other price traded outside of these channels is an abnormal price that those with unorthodox or illegal practices resort to, who avoid official channels in their dealings, and bear the additional costs alone by purchasing at a higher price than the official price to delude others with the difference between the official price and the other.”
Mot: . His Wife is Sooooo Caring – HUH!!! Man has water and treats
Mot: .. Gots to – deck the bike
