SocalDinar Posted September 26, 2022 Report Share Posted September 26, 2022 $18B Deposited in Lebanese Banks by Iraqi Politicians, Gov’t Agencies Has ‘Evaporated’ HUDHAIFA EBRAHIM 09/26/2022 https://themedialine.org/top-stories/18b-deposited-in-lebanese-banks-by-iraqi-politicians-govt-agencies-has-evaporated/ The funds mostly come from corrupt politicians and those seeking to avoid US sanctions An informed source in Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, told The Media Line that more than $18 billion belonging to Iraqi politicians, the Iraqi government, and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq have “evaporated” due to the banking crisis in Lebanon. The source, who declined to be named, said, “This is what can be counted, and is officially registered in the names of Iraqi personalities, companies, or government agencies. There are many personalities whose balances are registered under other names and with other nationalities.” He explained, “The numbers are much higher. There are politicians who are afraid of sanctions, so they have opened bank accounts in the names of Lebanese personalities who follow the same trend, and they are often followers of [Hizbullah and Amal movement], loyal to Iran, or even Sunni personalities.” The source also said that, so far, the Iraqis have not asked to withdraw their funds, and that if they did, Lebanon’s central bank would not be able to honor the request because it does not have sufficient liquidity, and “until liquidity is available, these funds remain just numbers in the banks.” He said that more than $1.3 billion belongs to the Iraqi government and more than $650 million belongs to the Kurdistan regional government. “As for the rest of the sums, they belong to political figures, businessmen, and others who hold Iraqi citizenship, and their money has been deposited in Lebanese banks in their names and nationalities. As for those who hold other nationalities, such as European, Iranian, Asian, or American nationalities, we will not be able to count them.” The value of the Lebanese currency against the dollar was stable for more than a quarter of a century, at around 1,515 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. From 2019, it gradually deteriorated, affected by a severe economic crisis afflicting the country, and is now 39,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar on the parallel market, though the official rate remains 1,517 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. Political corruption in Iraq contributed to the flight of funds abroad; Iraqi politicians who obtained funds illegally regularly deposited them in foreign banks. However, since the end of 2017, when the US government under former President Donald Trump began imposing sanctions on some of the politicians, depositing the money abroad became difficult, except in countries that did not implement US sanctions. Abdul Rahman al-Mashhadani, an Iraqi economic analyst, told The Media Line, “This money can be recovered if the government requests it, but the money of Iraqi politicians cannot be demanded.” He added that Lebanon could not pay the money now, but an agreement could be reached on recovering the money in installments. “Lebanon is one of the most popular countries for Iraqis to deposit their money in, because the government there is loyal to Hizbullah, which in turn is loyal to Iran, and this is in agreement with the orientation of many Iraqi politicians,” he said. In Lebanon, due to the influence of Hizbullah, US sanctions on pro-Iranian figures and parties can be circumvented “so they can deposit their money there without fear.” He continued: “What happened to the Lebanese banks plunged some Iraqi politicians into a financial crisis, but frankly, it is a small part of what the corrupt politicians own; their assets greatly exceed these sums.” Al-Mashhadani explained that Sunni Iraqi politicians could easily deposit their money in European and Turkish banks. But Shiite Iraqi politicians could only use banks in Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. And since economic situations in Iran and Syria were so precarious, Lebanese banks were the preferred solution before the economic collapse in that country.Mazhar Muhammad Salih, an adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, said in statements to the Iraqi media that “politicians who have money in Lebanese banks should forget it.” “They should forget it, it will not come back,” he told journalists while declining to answer questions about the Iraqi government’s money. Nabil Jaafar Al-Marsoumi, an economics professor at the University of Basrah, told The Media Line, “The numbers regarding Iraqi deposits in Lebanon’s banks are not accurate; the amounts are much larger.” “These funds belong to companies, some of which are registered in countries where tax evasion is possible,” he added. “Most of the money [deposited] in Lebanon is the result of corrupt operations that took place in Iraq. Lebanese banks have been facilitating deposit and transfer operations for Iraqis in the past years, and they have been a center [for financial corruption] for these officials,” Al-Marsoumi said. Ahmed A., a former employee of the Iraqi Embassy in Lebanon who spoke on condition that his full name not be used, told The Media Line, “In my work, I witnessed the transfer of many Iraqi funds to Lebanon.” “The sums were in the billions, and they were not withdrawn,” he said. “The Lebanese banks were paying more than 5% interest, which prompted Iraqi politicians to deposit their money in Lebanese banks, and now they cannot withdraw it.” He continued: “Specialized companies carried out this task. These companies were tacitly affiliated with Hizbullah. They supervised the transfers of funds and managed the bank accounts of Iraqi politicians in Lebanon.” He stressed that Lebanon was chosen to handle these funds due to Hizbullah’s control of the banks and said that some funds go to Iran as a form of support. “The politicians have billions of dollars in funds, some of which are the result of corrupt deals by foreign companies, which transfer these funds directly to the accounts of Iraqis in Lebanon,” he said. The former embassy employee added that he had “no idea” about the Iraqi government’s money in Lebanon. 3 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horsesoldier Posted September 27, 2022 Report Share Posted September 27, 2022 I'm lost for words... doesn't happen often I know, but after reading this I would think amongst the rank & file of the Iraqi people the phrase " get a rope " is being widely circulated. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwball Posted September 27, 2022 Report Share Posted September 27, 2022 There goes any warka money that was sitting there…if you remember the Al Bunnia family that owned warka smuggled money out to their branch in Lebanon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota691 Posted September 27, 2022 Report Share Posted September 27, 2022 Lebanese banks to shut indefinitely after flurry of holdups By Mia Alberti, Allegra Goodwin, Tamara Qiblawi and Jack Bantock, CNN Published 12:30 PM EDT, Thu September 22, 2022 Lebanese people rally in support of a man who entered a bank to protest demanding his savings in Beirut on September 16, 2022. oussam Shbaro/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images CNN — Lebanon’s banks are to remain closed indefinitely due to ongoing “risks” to employees and customers, the Association of Lebanese banks announced Wednesday. The shutdowns follow a series of holdups across the country over the past month, with at least five separate banks held up by depositors last Friday alone in attempt to retrieve savings frozen in the banking system. Millions of Lebanese citizens have been locked out of their accounts after the country plunged into financial crisis in October 2019. With local currency since losing 90% of its value, more than three quarters of the population have been pushed into poverty and most are unable to pay for basic items. In August, an armed man stormed a bank in the capital city of Beirut and threatened to kill hostages and himself if the bank did not allow him to withdraw money from his frozen account. Claiming he needed the funds to pay for his father’s medical expenses, Bassam Sheikh Hussein surrendered to police after the bank gave him some of his savings. Having been cheered on by groups outside the bank, Hussein was hailed as a national hero by many on social media. One anonymous security source speculated to CNN that Hussein’s methods could be replicated by others. Last Wednesday, a woman took $20,000 from her account after storming a bank armed with what she later claimed was a toy gun in order to fund her sister’s cancer treatment, according to state news. Later the same day, an armed man entered a bank in the mountain city of Aley and retrieved some of his trapped savings before handing himself in to authorities. The glass window of a bank is broken after a woman stormed it on September 14. Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images Lebanese army soldiers secure the premises near a bank in Beirut after a depositor stormed the branch demanding access to his money. Marwan Naamani/picture alliance/Getty Images The five banks held up Friday included one incident in the southern city of Ghazieh, where an armed man – having poured gasoline on the floor of the bank – threatened to burn the building down if not given access to his money, state news agency NNA reported. He retrieved $19,200 and passed the money onto to someone waiting for him outside the branch, before handing himself into authorities, NNA said. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota691 Posted September 27, 2022 Report Share Posted September 27, 2022 Lebanon's banks to reopen as of Monday by Naharnet Newsdesk 2 days ago http://images2.naharnet.com/images/250279/w460.jpg?1664095862 The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced Sunday that the country’s banks will resume operations as of Monday, following a one-week closure prompted by a wave of bank “heists” that were carried out by depositors demanding their savings. In a statement, ABL said it held a meeting in which it discussed “the need to secure the continuity of services for clients while taking into consideration the difficult security situations and the need to preserve the safety of clients and employees alike, in the absence of sufficient protection from the state.” The Association added that banks will resume their operations on Monday through “channels specified by each bank for the operations of commercial, educational, health and other institutions and through ATMs that are accessible by everyone.” “This will allow them to carry out their deposits and withdrawals and will secure the availability of the salaries of the public and private sectors,” ABL said. “If necessary, any client can contact the general administration of the concerned bank or its client service department so that any other urgent matter can be fulfilled as soon as possible,” the Association went on to say. The banks had initially declared a three-day strike but decided to extend it after rejecting a security plan proposed by the Interior Ministry. At least seven bank branches were stormed this month, where assailants demanded they withdraw their trapped savings. Among them is Sali Hafez, who broke into a Beirut bank branch with a fake pistol and retrieved some $13,000 in her savings to cover her sister's cancer treatment. Lebanon's cash-strapped banks had last closed for a prolonged period back in October 2019 for two weeks, during mass anti-government protests triggered by the economic meltdown. Since 2019, the banks have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of currency, tying up the savings of millions of people. Since then, the tiny country's economy has continued to spiral. The Lebanese pound has lost about 90% of its value against the dollar, while three-quarters of the population has plunged into poverty. "One of our demands is that we are provided with security to guarantee that we can keep the banks safe," Fadi Khalaf, the Secretary-General of the Association of Banks had recently said. "When you have people come in with weapons and throw gasoline everywhere, do we have to wait until someone dies before we do something about it?" Khalaf said the banks were not content with a security plan that caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi's team presented to them on Tuesday. "He said they don't have enough personnel and that the banks should provide its own security," he said. "But what can private security do if he has to deal with someone carrying a gun?" The Union of Bank Employee Syndicates in a statement on Thursday echoed similar sentiments, refusing to return to work until they believe it is safe for them to do so. The bank heists were mostly celebrated among the Lebanese public, who have accused the authorities of rampant corruption and mismanagement. Millions of Lebanese are struggling to cope with skyrocketing food prices and rampant power cuts and many now sympathize with people choosing to take matters into their own hands. Depositors' protest groups have vowed to continue supporting people's attempts at forcefully retrieving their savings. Meanwhile, the Lebanese authorities for over two years have been scrambling to put in place financial reforms and restructure its economy to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. Among the reforms is a capital controls law that would formally restrict and regulate the flow of money in and out of the banks. The IMF on Wednesday after meeting with officials criticized Lebanon for its sluggish progress, but caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam told the AP that the country aims to adopt some of these reforms next month. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theseus Posted September 28, 2022 Report Share Posted September 28, 2022 (edited) On 9/26/2022 at 6:53 PM, SocalDinar said: $18B Deposited in Lebanese Banks by Iraqi Politicians, Gov’t Agencies Has ‘Evaporated’ This is how it happened. Edited September 28, 2022 by Theseus 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota691 Posted October 4, 2022 Report Share Posted October 4, 2022 Lebanon.. The series of storming banks is back again Arabic and international Economy News - Baghdad The series of Lebanese depositors' storming of banks resumed on Tuesday, after storming two banks, the first in the city of Tripoli in the north of the country, and the second in the city of Chtaura in the Bekaa region. The Lebanese Depositors Association reported that the employees of the Qadisha Electricity Company in Tripoli stormed the "First National Bank", due to the reluctance of the branch's management to deliver their salaries. She said that a retired soldier in the Internal Security Forces stormed the BLC Bank in the city of Chtaura, and took a number of hostages, revealing an attempt to storm a bank in Zahle, but the bank closed its doors before the depositor arrived. On September 16, Lebanon witnessed, and during the same day, about 7 raids of several banks, after which the Association of Banks announced the closure for 3 days due to security concerns. During the past months, there were about 13 bank break-ins in Lebanon. The Association of Banks said that "continuing the policy of indifference means continuing the policy of storming banks." 86 . views Added 10/04/2022 - 10:43 AM Update 10/04/2022 - 2:54 PM 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artitech Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 On 9/27/2022 at 6:21 AM, screwball said: There goes any warka money that was sitting there…if you remember the Al Bunnia family that owned warka smuggled money out to their branch in Lebanon This just a question for a friend. Do you are anyone here on DV believe any money that was put in the Warka bank gone! I'm just thanking my lucky stars, for not getting caught up in this scheme that was going around in 2011, If my memory serves me right! Full Disclosure, I tried to put $5000.00 in an account! Lucky for me, I didn't know how to work my computer very good. My daughter was gone to school the day, I was going to transfer my money. she had an out state game, and was gone for 3 days. Bottom line the account was not opened, the money was never transfer so I saved that money!! Last I heard the people that opened accounts were going to get their money back! I guess that scuttle-butt! As this investment rolls on, the more & more it looks like we, that are invested in the IQD will take it up the shorts! I hope I'm very wrong, because I stand to lose a lot of cash. I'm going to stay positive, but it sure looks bad for the home team at this point in time!! JMHO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rochester Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 I was thinking about, what are the real reasons I invested in this Dinar? Lots of surface reasons like money, but I came to the conclusion that wasn't the real reason I've stuck around for a long time. The real reason is I believe miracles eventually happen. I'm looking for a lot of happiness in life, I have a list of things I want to do, that will make me happy and help a lot of people out. Yeah, I'm looking for a miracle. And I believe that will happen. 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artitech Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 30 minutes ago, Rochester said: I was thinking about, what are the real reasons I invested in this Dinar? Lots of surface reasons like money, but I came to the conclusion that wasn't the real reason I've stuck around for a long time. The real reason is I believe miracles eventually happen. I'm looking for a lot of happiness in life, I have a list of things I want to do, that will make me happy and help a lot of people out. Yeah, I'm looking for a miracle. And I believe that will happen. I'm right there with you in believing in a miracle for this investment, I'm staying till the bitter end! After the 1st qt of 2023, I'm going to limit my exposure with the IQD & ingest a lot less HOPIEM. I'm going to hold enough IQD that, I can still help a lot of hurting people! Plus maybe buy a few more cows and a new 1 ton Dodge Ram! IF this Miracle could happen right now, It would be tremendous, I'm sure everyone has seen the catastrophe in Florida, from hurricane Ian!! It would bless my heart so much, If I could write a 2 million dollar check to The Samaritan's Purse, that are on scene now, there in Southwest Florida! I encourage everyone to give to this ministry. I'm an eyewitness to the work they do! Especially, back in 2017, with the work they did in Victoria, TX. I had the opportunity to ask people that they helped what they thought about The Samaritan's Purse. The people almost came to tears telling me, If they were not there to help them, they didn't know how they were going to feed their children or continue to stay in their hotel room till their work came back! The Salvation Army does really good too! The Red Cross is way down the list, as to getting any support from me! Like you I believe the IQD will RV/RI when, I don't know! I personally don't believe the CBI will LOP their currency! If they were going to LOP they could have done that, years ago plus saved a lot of money! JMHO!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwball Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 2 hours ago, Artitech said: I'm right there with you in believing in a miracle for this investment, I'm staying till the bitter end! After the 1st qt of 2023, I'm going to limit my exposure with the IQD & ingest a lot less HOPIEM. I'm going to hold enough IQD that, I can still help a lot of hurting people! Plus maybe buy a few more cows and a new 1 ton Dodge Ram! IF this Miracle could happen right now, It would be tremendous, I'm sure everyone has seen the catastrophe in Florida, from hurricane Ian!! It would bless my heart so much, If I could write a 2 million dollar check to The Samaritan's Purse, that are on scene now, there in Southwest Florida! I encourage everyone to give to this ministry. I'm an eyewitness to the work they do! Especially, back in 2017, with the work they did in Victoria, TX. I had the opportunity to ask people that they helped what they thought about The Samaritan's Purse. The people almost came to tears telling me, If they were not there to help them, they didn't know how they were going to feed their children or continue to stay in their hotel room till their work came back! The Salvation Army does really good too! The Red Cross is way down the list, as to getting any support system" rel="">support from me! Like you I believe the IQD will RV/RI when, I don't know! I personally don't believe the CBI will LOP their currency! If they were going to LOP they could have done that, years ago plus saved a lot of money! JMHO!! Regardless on when this happens and what happens I have been invested since 2004 and will go all the way to the end regardless of result 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwball Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 Toilet paper or no toilet paper….I have just invested in gold and silver and have over 100,000,000 stocks and will be invested until death 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota691 Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 Deposits of billions of dollars evaporate..Fragments of the Lebanese banking crisis reach Iraq 2022.10.04 - 16:34 Baghdad - people A press report sheds light on the economic crisis in Lebanon, which led to the "evaporation" of billions of dollars, while noting that Iraqi deposits in Lebanese banks were affected during this crisis. The report prepared by "Asrar Shabaro" for Al-Hurra, and followed by "Nas" (October 4, 2022), stated that "Lebanese banks have been holding depositors' money from Lebanese and foreigners since 2019, and imposing strict restrictions on withdrawals, especially in foreign currencies, despite the fact that there are no restrictions on withdrawals, especially in foreign currencies. The existence of any legal text that gives it the right to do so.” The report adds, “A large part of the Iraqi money in Lebanese banks falls under the framework of money laundering, and it explains, “The money may have been smuggled for political reasons, given that an important part of the Lebanese banking sector is under the hegemony, supervision or control of Hezbollah, so we find that large sums It belongs to Iraqi companies and officials registered in the names of their wives or daughters, or even in the names of some Lebanese, according to economics professor Nabil Al-Marsoumi. Below is the full text of the report: The banking crisis crossed the Lebanese borders, and its fragments reached Iraq, with the evaporation of deposits of billions of dollars, some of which are proven and some are still unknown. On the fourth of last April, the representative in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Ali Hama Saleh, announced, through his pages on social media, that he had sent, in 2015, a message to the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, indicating that selling oil through a particular person is “dangerous, but They did not listen to me, and as a result, nearly $650 million in Lebanon was frozen." Hama Saleh pointed out that "the frozen funds are the revenues of the Kurdistan region's oil in the account of the private Cypriot company" for this person, who mentioned his full name and nationality, but the Al-Hurra website refrains from revealing his identity since we were unable to reach him to respond to these accusations. The next day, the head of the "Kalwadha" Center for Studies and Research, Basil Hussein, tweeted on his Twitter page, stressing that "according to sources, the Iraqi funds deposited in Lebanon amount to between 16 and 18 billion dollars, most of which are caused by corruption operations that took place in Iraq." He added that "Lebanese banks facilitated deposit and transfer operations for Iraqis in the past years, and represented a financial center for Iraqi companies, officials and politicians." In the same month, the Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission announced that it had succeeded in recovering more than $9 million from Lebanese banks. ) dollars to the Iraqi government, in addition to an apartment in the Ras Beirut area,” revealing that “the money that was smuggled by the convict, Zina Saud, was deposited in five Lebanese banks under pseudonyms.” On Thursday, the Iraqi Federal Integrity Commission announced its success in recovering more than $9 million from Lebanese banks, indicating that it has been working on this file since 2013 until now. The commission has worked on this file since 2013, "in cooperation and coordination with the legal department in the Ministry of Justice, by investigating the convicted money after finding bank accounts for it outside Iraq," noting that "a request for legal assistance was directed to the Lebanese judicial authorities, in order to Obtaining a decision to give the executive version of the conviction decision issued by the Iraqi courts. She also explained that "the Lebanese judiciary initially issued a decision to refer the case file to the Beirut investigative judge, based on a misdemeanor of money laundering, in preparation for freezing it and then confiscating it for the benefit of the Lebanese government," explaining that "the commission directed its lawyers in Lebanon to appeal those decisions." After submitting requests and appeals to the Lebanese judiciary, he issued a decision, as stated in the statement, “to confiscate those funds deposited in Lebanese banks, which were under pseudonyms, and hand them over to the Iraqi government,” pointing out that “the authority coordinated with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq, in order to transfer funds.” to the treasury of the Iraqi government. Lebanese banks have detained the money of Lebanese and foreign depositors since 2019, and imposed strict restrictions on withdrawals, especially in foreign currencies, despite the absence of any legal text that gives them the right to do so. And on Sunday, the head of the "Kalwadha" Center re-lighted the Iraqi funds through a tweet specifying the amount held in Lebanese banks, where he wrote, "18 billion dollars Iraqi money has evaporated in Lebanon's banks. The incense of corrupt politicians is expensive, even more expensive than Cambodian incense. For the water, and the money of milk is for milk.” And if Hussein's information was confirmed based on documents he obtained, he answered in an interview with Al-Hurra that "a Lebanese banking source revealed the value of the amount to Media Line." Most of the Iraqi money belongs to "Iraqi politicians belonging to several parties," according to Hussein, explaining, "Many of it is money resulting from corruption operations, because the Iraqi model follows the African model of money smuggling, which is based on stealing the country's money and investing it outside it." He pointed out that "after the great inflation and the decline in the value of the Iranian currency following the embargo, the Iraqis no longer trust Iranian banks, to find in Lebanese banks and others an alternative, including the banks of London, where the New York Times had previously lit up Iraqi money to be smuggled into it." Last year, Iraqi President Barham Salih revealed that there are "indications and data that speculate that at least 150 billion dollars of corruption deals have been smuggled abroad since 2003... these illegal funds were enough to put the country in a better place," declaring that Presenting a bill to "recover the proceeds of corruption" to the House of Representatives. Iraq ranks among the most corrupt countries in the world, as it ranked 157th in Transparency International's "Corruption Perceptions Indicators" in 2021. The professor of economics at the University of Basra, Dr. Nabil Al-Marsoumi, also confirms that the Iraqi funds outside the country are in the billions, of which 40 billion dollars are invested in Jordan, while there are no accurate figures for Iraqi deposits in Lebanese banks. He told Al-Hurra website, "Some indicate that it reaches ten billion dollars, while a source in the Lebanese Central Bank raises the amount to 18 billion dollars, including one billion and 300 million dollars for the Iraqi government and 650 million dollars for the Kurdistan Regional Government." The Lebanese banking sector, which had assets of more than $150 billion, says al-Marsoumi, "has been able to attract capital over the years, whether from Arab investors or expatriates, as they found this country a safe haven." A large part of the Iraqi funds in Lebanese banks are included, according to the professor of economics, in the context of money laundering, and he explains, “The money may have been smuggled for political reasons, given that an important part of the Lebanese banking sector is under the hegemony, supervision or control of Hezbollah, so we find that exaggerated Large numbers of Iraqi companies and officials are registered in the names of their wives or daughters, or even in the names of some Lebanese.” And the "Media Line" website quoted a former employee of the Iraqi embassy in Lebanon, Ahmed (on condition that his full name not be mentioned), that he witnessed in his work the transfer of many Iraqi funds to Lebanon. He explained that "Lebanese banks were paying interest of more than 5%, which prompted Iraqi politicians to deposit their money in them" and that "specialized companies implicitly linked to Hezbollah supervised the transfer of funds and managed the bank accounts of Iraqi politicians in Lebanon." But why is this money not being claimed? About this, Al-Marsoumi replied, “Either because of the bankruptcy of the Lebanese banks, and in this case the so-called division of the rivals is resorted to, meaning the remainder of the liquidity is divided among the depositors, or because the owners of real accounts do not want to reveal their identity, to avoid being held accountable for how they obtained these amounts. It should be taken out of the country and deposited in Lebanese banks. Lawsuits The Kurdistan Regional Government has a specific number for its money in Lebanon’s banks, and it is based, according to MP Saleh to Al-Hurra, on the reports of the international company Deloitte, which audits the accounts of the Kurdistan Region’s oil revenues, which is “$294 million and 310 million euros.” The person mentioned in the beginning of the report deposited it in a Lebanese bank. Deloitte had stated in its report for the first quarter of 2021, on exports, consumption, expenditures and oil revenues (Note No. 10) that “from January 1, 2021, an amount of 310 million euros previously paid by a buyer and held in an escrow account has been reclassified A banker in Lebanon, as down payment This amount has not yet been reported in the net movement in the buyer’s account balances or the total balance due from the KRG to buyers, as the funds have not yet been released to the KRG.” Deloitte report for the first quarter of 2021 "Banks in Lebanon continue to restrict the movement of foreign currencies outside the country. In addition to this 310 million euros, the amount of 294 million dollars in oil revenue for the Kurdistan Regional Government is also still held in a bank account in Lebanon," she added. In its report for the fourth quarter of 2021, Deloitte stated in Note 10: The amount of US$294 million and €310 million of KRG oil revenue is still held in bank accounts in Lebanon and banks in Lebanon continue to restrict the movement of foreign currency out of the country. country". Deloitte's Q4 2021 report IMMS had filed a lawsuit against the Mediterranean Bank in the US state of New York on November 22, 2019, accusing it of not returning a deposit of one billion dollars when it was requested. After Reuters published this information, the bank's management issued a statement in which it clarified that "the deposit amounting to one billion dollars is a deposit prohibited under the instructions of IMMS, due in about two years from now." Court documents seen by Reuters showed that the "IMMS" oil trading company filed a lawsuit against the Lebanese Mediterranean Bank in the US state of New York, accusing it of failing to return a deposit of one billion dollars when it requested it. And she pointed out that "between October 30 and November 12, 2019, it discovered material breaches of the contract and IMMS's attempts to direct the funds owed to BankMed abroad, noting that the bank opposed such attempts by IMMS and took appropriate measures." The bank’s management confirmed that “according to the contracts, the relationship between the bank and IMMS is subject to Lebanese law and to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Lebanese courts, and IMMS has already started filing a lawsuit in Beirut on November 14, 2019,” stressing that “BankMed remains committed to its high banking standards and the protection of the interests of its clients and the application of Lebanese laws and practices as required by the current circumstances.” Proven Deposits Most of the Iraqi deposits in Lebanese banks belong to the regime of the former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, according to lawyer Hassan Bazzi, who confirmed that the deposits proven to be in Lebanon’s banks are estimated at $7 billion, but at the same time there are deposits that no one knows about because President Saddam Hussein He did not put money in banks in the name of the Iraqi state, but in the names of some individuals and leaders of the Baath Party in Iraq and Lebanon. The Association “The People Want Reform of the System” submitted a report to the Public Prosecution of Appeal in Mount Lebanon, that the Iraqi deposits are among the funds lost from Lebanese banks, which are the subject of an investigation before Judge Ghada Aoun based on a complaint submitted by the association as well, although this The Iraqi funds were seized, Bazzi says to Al-Hurra website, "by order of the Special Banking Investigation Commission and the Financial Public Prosecution, which means that it did not produce interest, but it turned out that the Lebanese banks abused the trust, as they lent it and benefited from it, and in the end it disappeared with the rest of the deposits." ". In addition to being a member of the “The People Want Reform of the System” association and its president, Bazzi is the agent of one of the Iraqi depositors, whose inheritance owns $300 million distributed among three Lebanese banks. He discovered these deposits, which unfortunately cannot be recovered, after the evaporation of money in the banks.” The Iraqi government is following up on the issue of its deposits, and it has recovered a number of them, as whenever it reveals a deposit that belongs to it, it works, according to the lawyer, to recover it, “from here it can be explained the state of secrecy on the part of the account holders that President Saddam Hussein had previously put in their names, for fear of the situation of their government.” hand on her." The Iraqi authorities had enacted a law entrusting the Supreme National Commission for Accountability and Justice to "contribute to the disclosure of funds illegally seized by agents of the former regime inside and outside Iraq and return them to the public treasury." In August 2018, the Association of Lebanese Banks announced the transfer of funds that were in their possession to the government of Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi authorities through the US Federal Bank. Lebanese Central. For his part, the former head of the Banking Control Commission, Samir Hammoud, denies that the number being circulated (18 billion dollars) is correct, stressing that it is greatly inflated, and about the names of Iraqi depositors, he replied, “The law prevents us from informing them about them, unless the person is a suspect.” with it". Lebanese banks adopt the banking secrecy law, which prevents the disclosure of any information related to the accounts of individuals, except in certain cases, including in the case of suspected use of funds for the purpose of laundering them. Open to banks or financial institutions. Lebanese banks have previously faced a large number of frauds, as Hammoud confirms in an interview with Al-Hurra, explaining, "There are many people who claim to have documents stating that they are entitled to balances in Lebanese banks, dating back to the era of Saddam Hussein, to prove afterwards that they are forged, some of whom offered to give up 30, 40 and even 50% of the value of the deposit in return for obtaining it. As for the fate of Iraqi deposits in Lebanese banks, Al-Marsoumi does not rule out secret talks between the two concerned sides, and also does not rule out a clearing, given that Iraq exports to Lebanon one million tons of black oil. Quoted from "Free" 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelman Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) Remember it’s taxes on Oil exports now! That law was implemented February 2021! Follow The Money! 💥 BOOM! Edited October 5, 2022 by Wheelman 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yota691 Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 1 hour ago, Wheelman said: Remember it’s taxes on Oil exports now! That law was implemented February 2021! Follow The Money! 💥 BOOM! Are you referring to Vat Taxes...and GM DV 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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