British report: Iraq is facing an acute shortage of dinars and is struggling to pay salaries

yota691 · January 18, 2023

The judiciary issues new arrest warrants against officials of Al-Kazemi's government in the "theft of the century" case

2023-01-18 03:55

Shafaq News/ The Supreme Judicial Council, the judge, stated, on Wednesday, that new arrest warrants were issued against officials in the former federal government, regarding the theft of tax secretariat funds, what is known as the "theft of the century".

A statement issued by the Supreme Judicial Council stated that its president, Judge Faeq Zaidan, met today with the head of the Integrity Commission, Haider Hanoun, and the first judges in the investigation courts specialized in examining cases of the Integrity Commission in Rusafa and Karkh, Judge Iyad Mohsen Damad, and Judge Diaa Jaafar, and the head of the support team for the Supreme Commission. Anti-corruption Abdul Karim Abdul Fadel Al-Basri.

The statement indicated that the meeting discussed "submitting ideas and proposals to the relevant ministries to amend contracts in which the existence of unfairness to the state and harm to the citizen is indicated, in a way that guarantees the preservation of public money and at the same time that the parties to the contract are not harmed." The meeting also discussed continuing efforts to recover state funds obtained from corruption crimes administration according to legal mechanisms.

Judge Diaa Jaafar gave a briefing on the steps that the Second Karkh Investigation Court began to take with the parties to the smart card contract to reconsider the terms of the contract concluded to remove the injustice of the rights of the Rafidain and Rashid Bank, and for the aforementioned company to pay the amount of taxes owed by it, amounting to approximately 15 billion dinars.

He also explained to the meeting the continuation of the procedures for recovering tax secretariat funds according to an agreed map, in addition to the issuance of new arrest warrants against a number of defendants linked to parties that held positions in the previous government that had a role in that case and in light of the developments in the investigation.

The "theft of the century" became the talk of the Iraqi street, political circles, and others, until its echo spread outside Iraq and was covered by Arab and Western media.

The "theft of the century" is represented by the disappearance of 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (about two and a half billion dollars) from tax secretariat funds, and it was revealed by several concerned parties about two months before the end of the term of the previous government headed by Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

Following the discovery of the theft, the Commission of Integrity and the Judicial Authority moved to investigate the case, and several judicial arrest warrants were issued. The first arrested was businessman Nour Zuhair, and he was imprisoned, in addition to others, along with judicial decisions to confiscate the movable and immovable funds of those involved in the theft as well as their families.

The case file is still open to the Iraqi judiciary to reach all its leads, as well as ways to recover the money that was smuggled out of Iraq, according to a number of deputies and politicians.

yota691 · January 18, 2023

Iraq.. New arrest warrants against officials in Al-Kazemi's government in the "theft of the century" case

Publish date: 18.01.2023 | 13:54 GMT |Arab world news

AFP

Today, Wednesday, the President of the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq, Judge Faiq Zaidan, issued new arrest warrants against officials in the government of former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, in the "theft of the century" case.

And the Supreme Judicial Council announced in a statement that its president met today with the head of the Integrity Commission, Haider Hanoun, and the senior judges in the investigation courts specialized in examining the cases of the Integrity Commission in Rusafa and Karkh, and the head of the support team of the Supreme Commission for Combating Corruption. The existence of unfairness to the state and harm to the citizen, in a way that guarantees the preservation of public money and at the same time that the parties to the contract are not harmed. The meeting also discussed the continuation of efforts to recover state funds obtained from administrative corruption crimes according to legal mechanisms.

Judge Diaa Jaafar gave a summary of the steps that the Second Karkh Investigation Court began to take with the parties to the smart card contract to reconsider the terms of the contract concluded to remove the injustice of the rights of the Rafidain and Rasheed Banks, and for the aforementioned company to pay the amount of taxes owed by it, amounting to approximately fifteen billion dinars.
He also explained to the meeting the continuation of the procedures for recovering tax secretariat funds according to an agreed map, in addition to the issuance of new arrest warrants against a number of defendants linked to parties who held positions in the previous government that had a role in that case and in light of the developments in the investigation.

Source: RT

coorslite21 · January 18, 2023

This is pretty recent news. Government corruption and theft. Makes me wonder how far off any changes may be...CL

Highlights Demise of the dollar? GOVERNANCE Iraqi authorities investigate central bank involvement in fraud case Iraqi dinars Central Banking Newsdesk

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Magistrates in Iraq are investigating the country’s central bank over its possible involvement in a multi-billion dollar fraud. An internal investigation by the finance ministry earlier this year found some of the ministry’s own officials had helped embezzle around $2.5 billion. It found that officials had written cheques worth 3.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (around $2.5 billion) to five companies.

The transactions, worth about 2.8% of Iraq’s 2021 government budget, took place between September YOU MAY ALSO LIKE European judges seek to question Lebanese governor 12 JAN 2023 Nigerian lawyers call for security service to end pursuit of governor 16 JAN 2023 Central Bank of Bahrain governor celebrates Binance launch 17 JAN 2023 Nepal central bank prohibits overseas investments 18 JAN 2023 Sri Lankan IMF deal blocked by debt problems, governor says 13 JAN 2023 MORE ON GOVERNANCE Risk Management Most central banks track key risk indicators 18 JAN 2023 Governance European investigators meet with former Lebanese deputy governor 17 JAN 2023 Risk Management Fewer than half of central banks have a CRO 17 JAN 2023 Governance Nigerian lawyers call for security service to end pursuit of governor 16 JAN 2023 Risk Management Most central banks completed risk management review in 2022 16 JAN 2023 Risk Management Cyber security topples reputational risk as first concern 13 JAN 2023 Governance European judges seek to question Lebanese governor 12 JAN 2023 Governance Zambian central bank needs more safeguards, IMF says 12 JAN 2023 MOST READ IMF’s Gopinath rewrites classic open-economy model Ban, contain, regulate: BIS weighs crypto policies The always imminent demise of the global dollar ‘Geo-economic fragmentation’ could cut GDP by 12%, says IMF Bank of Canada may be set for billions of losses Egyptian currency plunges amid move to flexible exchange rate BoE completes unwind of gilt market intervention Bank of Russia restarts open FX trading to support ruble Fed will not fight climate change without mandate, Powell says support Services Legal & Privacy Useful links Follow topics Twitter Linkedin Newsletters Facebook Apps RSS © Infopro Digital 2023 © Infopro Digital Risk (IP) Limited (2023). All rights reserved. Published by Infopro Digital Services Limited, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX. Companies are registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09232733 & 04699701. × Central Banking Infopro Digital Services FREE - In Google Play Install

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yota691 · January 19, 2023

The Iraqi judiciary issues new arrest warrants for the "theft of the century"

Amid reports of impunity for some of the accused

Thursday - 26 Jumada II 1444 AH - January 19, 2023 AD Issue number [16123]

The heads of the Judicial and Integrity Council during their meeting yesterday (INA)

Baghdad: Fadel Al-Nashmi

The Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq announced the issuance of new arrest warrants against those accused of stealing tax secretariat funds, or what has become known as the "theft of the century", which erupted in early October 2022, and the total stolen funds amounted to about $2.5 billion. The arrest warrants come amid circulating news of the impunity of the main suspect in the case, after the authorities released him on bail in exchange for returning the money he stole, estimated at one billion dollars.
And the Iraqi News Agency (INA) had quoted an explanation by the judge of the Karkh Investigation Court, which is specialized in cases of integrity, Diaa Jaafar, in which he said, “The accused, Nour Zuhair, will be referred to the competent court to conduct his due process trial after paying all the sums in his possession.” Adding that handing over the sums of money is one of the conditions for judicial rulings . The reason for the court's acceptance of what the defendant offered in the financial settlement is that there is no legal impediment to that, in addition to the fact that the collection of stolen sums of money after the issuance of judgments that have acquired the degree of bits requires lengthy procedures from the execution departments to sell real estate by conducting auctions, which may take long periods.
Last week, the authorities also released on bail the economic advisor to former Prime Minister Haitham al-Jubouri, who is in the same case, according to what Judge Jaafar announced at the time.
The new arrest warrants were issued after a meeting held, yesterday, Wednesday, by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Faeq Zaidan, with the head of the “Integrity Commission” Haider Hanoun and the first judges in the investigation courts specialized in examining the cases of the Integrity Commission in Rusafa and Karkh.
According to a statement issued, the conferees “discussed presenting ideas and proposals to the relevant ministries to amend contracts in which it indicates the existence of unfairness to the state and harm to the citizen, in a manner that guarantees the preservation of public money and at the same time that the parties to the contract are not harmed. The conferees also discussed continuing efforts to recover state funds obtained from Administrative corruption crimes according to legal mechanisms. The meeting stressed the need to continue the procedures for recovering tax secretariat funds according to an agreed map, in addition to the issuance of new arrest warrants against a number of defendants linked to parties who held positions in the previous government that had a role in that case and in light of the developments in the investigation.
And Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani announced at the end of last November that 182 billion dinars (less than 2 percent of the total stolen amount) had been recovered as a first batch of the stolen tax money through the first defendant, Nour Zuhair, after his conditional release, but that did not lead to To the satisfaction of ordinary citizens who question the soundness of government procedures to recover all the stolen money. A wide spectrum of citizens circulated news that the influential parties benefiting from the theft had smuggled Noor Zuhair out of the country.
Perhaps what strengthened the popular belief in the weakness of government measures to recover the money was the release of the other accused of theft, head of the Finance Committee and advisor to the former prime minister, Haitham al-Jubouri, on conditional bail.
Last week, political sources spoke of the release of al-Jubouri, one of the most prominent detainees in connection with the "theft of the century" case.
The sources said, "Al-Jubouri returned part of the money and pledged to return the remaining money owed by him in the coming days." The judicial authorities did not issue any statement or clarification about the release process or not.
On a subject related to corruption issues, the Federal Integrity Commission revealed, yesterday, Wednesday, that an order had been issued to bring in the current governor of Diwaniyah and the director of agriculture in the province. For deliberately committing a violation of the duties of his position and for failing to perform one of its duties with the intent of harming the interest of an individual.
The authority said in a statement, “The investigation court specialized in examining integrity issues in Diwaniyah decided to bring in the current governor of Diwaniyah and the director of agriculture in the province, against the background of his pressure and bargaining with a person to give up an area of land estimated at (500) dunums, in exchange for the governor’s To renew the agricultural land contract belonging to that person and his partners.

6ly410 · January 20, 2023

Iraq: US dollar-smuggling crackdown leaves Baghdad struggling to pay wages

Checks on currency auction imposed by Federal Reserve since 'theft of the century' are hurting Iraq's public finances

iraq-money-exchange-baghdad-january-2023

A man changes US dollars at a money exchange in Baghdad's Shorja market on 14 January 2023 (AP)

By

Suadad al-Salhy

Published date: 20 January 2023 10:58 UTC | Last update: 12 hours 52 mins ago

Iraq is facing a deepening hole in its public finances because of a crackdown on corruption and dollar smuggling by the US Federal Reserve since the “theft of the century”, Iraqi officials have told Middle East Eye.

The crisis, which is expected to worsen in the next few weeks, has been caused by a collapse in the daily trade in dollars through a currency auction run by the Central Bank of Iraq.

The Iraqi government depends on the auction to convert dollars, which it earns through oil revenues, into Iraqi dinars. Last year, about $200m per day on average was being sold through the auction to private banks and companies.

'The problem we are facing now in Iraq is the scarcity of the Iraqi dinar, not the dollar'

- Senior official, Central Bank of Iraq

But that figure dropped sharply in the final two months of the year, falling to a daily average of $56m by late December, according to data reviewed by MEE.

Now the government is facing a shortage of dinars, which has left it struggling to pay public sector salaries and meet its other monthly obligations.

A senior official at the Central Bank of Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told MEE: “The problem we are facing now in Iraq is the scarcity of the Iraqi dinar, not the dollar.”

Neighbouring countries, which depend heavily on the official foreign currency exchange markets in Iraq to obtain dollars, are also facing a liquidity crisis with Iran, Turkey and Syria all affected, according to officials in Baghdad.

The crisis has affected the wider economy, with the dollar exchange rate on unofficial markets rising from 148 dinars to 163 dinars since late November.

The price of consumer goods has increased. This week, the price of rice rose to 2,350 dinars per kilo (about $1.57), up from 1,850 dinars per kilo (about $1.25), while the cost of cooking oil has more than doubled, from 1,250 dinars per litre (about $0.85) to 3,000 dinars (about $2).

The Iraqi officials whom MEE spoke to denied any direct connection between the current crisis and the so-called “theft of the century”, in which about $2.5bn was stolen from Iraq’s tax authority through a state-owned bank between September 2021 and August 2022.

But they conceded that the US Federal Reserve had imposed more stringent checks on private banks buying dollars through the auction two months ago, just weeks after details of the theft were disclosed by the Iraqi Ministry of Finance on 10 October.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in October that most of the stolen money was believed to have been smuggled out of Iraq.

In November, Judge Haider Hanoun, head of the Federal Commission of Integrity (FCI), Iraq’s anti-corruption watchdog, said Iraq had sought help from friendly governments, international organisations and the United Nations to recover the stolen money.

One of Sudani's advisers, who spoke to MEE on condition of anonymity, said the Federal Reserve had started checking external financial transfers in November in an attempt to trace the stolen funds.

This had caused delays in the release of transfers and led to a reduction in dollar sales through the auction, the adviser said.

The Federal Reserve also introduced checks on the source of funds held by private banks participating in the auction, prompting many of them to withdraw and increasing the unofficial exchange rate, the adviser said.

Crisis meeting

Late in December, the Coordination Framework, the largest political coalition backing the government, held a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the rising cost of the dollar and the crisis in the Iraqi markets.

The meeting was limited to senior leaders in the coalition, Sudani and Mustafa Ghaleb, the governor of the Central Bank.

Ghaleb told the meeting that the Federal Reserve had “serious indications” of dollar-smuggling operations to neighbouring countries, according to one leader who attended the meeting.

Ghaleb named two Egyptian banks based in Dubai to whom most of the dollars bought in the auction had been transferred in the period being investigated, the leader said. The dollars had then been transferred on to Amman in Jordan, and then to Iran.

Four private Iraqi banks which had transferred the bulk of the money to the two Egyptian banks had been ordered by the Central Bank of Iraq to stop dealing with them in November, following a directive from the Federal Reserve, the leader said.

According to a document seen by MEE, the Central Bank also ordered banks and other financial institutions to stop dealing in dollars with the four banks “for audit purposes” on 6 November.

This was challenged in lawsuits brought against the Central Bank by all four banks - Al-Ansari Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, Al-Qabidh Islamic Bank for Finance and Investment, Asia Al Iraq Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, and the Iraqi Middle East Investment Bank.

But their cases were rejected this week by the Financial Services Court, which affirmed the right of the Federal Reserve to prohibit them from dealing in dollars.

A financial adviser involved in the “theft of the century” investigation told MEE that the episode had furnished the Federal Reserve with “conclusive evidence of the theft of government funds that were taken out with government instruments.

“They could not turn a blind eye to it,” said the adviser. “It provided the required motivation for the Federal Reserve to impose its procedures on private banks and the Central Bank of Iraq.

"They [the Americans] have been looking for this opportunity since 2014 to pounce on foreign currency auction sales, but former prime ministers have always obtained exceptions under the pretext of buying electricity, fuel and other things from Iran.

“But this time the story is different."

MEE contacted the Federal Reserve for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Oil sales revenue

The Iraqi government needs at least eight trillion dinars (about $5.5bn) per month to pay the salaries of government employees, retirees, beneficiaries of social welfare, victims of terrorism and others, and this is secured largely through the currency auction.

Most of this comes from Iraq’s oil revenue, which since 2003 has been paid in dollars into an account held by the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

'The pressures are increasing and the situation will get worse if the government does not take decisive measures to contain the crisis'

- Prime minister's adviser

The US Treasury transfers $10bn annually to the Central Bank of Iraq from the proceeds of oil sales, in order to strengthen its foreign currency balance.

This amount is delivered in cash in four instalments. All dollars are new and have serial numbers registered with the Federal Reserve for easy tracking, officials said.

The Central Bank of Iraq then sells the dollars through the foreign currency auction and other channels to obtain dinars for the Ministry of Finance.

Now the decline in dollar sales has caused a shortage of dinars for the Central Bank of Iraq. Even at its peak, the auction does not usually raise enough to meet the $275m which the government needs each day.

This shortfall is usually covered from currency stocks held by the Central Bank, through internal loans between the bank and the government, by printing more currency, or by other financial activities.

Foreign currency auction data for the past four years reviewed by MEE shows that the amount of dollars traded remained stable, at an average of about $200m per day during 2019 and 2020, despite the decline in oil prices, the Covid pandemic and a recession.

In the first three months of 2021, the amount traded in the auction dropped to historic lows, with just $3m traded on some days.

But in the second week of April, the daily amount jumped suddenly, with an average of $190m traded every day until the end of the year.

In 2022, dollar sales did not fall below an average of $200m per day for the first 10 months of the year.

Two financial advisers who spoke to MEE said the increase from April 2021 was likely linked to the “theft of the century” plot.

They said the figures aroused suspicion that the theft had started earlier than September 2021, as preliminary investigations had suggested, although they offered no further information to back up this claim.

'Options are limited'

Since the collapse in auction revenues, the Central Bank has opened new outlets selling dollars directly to citizens through the currency auction system, in an effort to raise more dinars.

But data showing foreign currency sales for the past few weeks show that the bank is still selling an average of less than $90m a day.

Iraqi officials expect the situation to deteriorate further over the next few weeks, after the Central Bank launched a new electronic platform for the currency auction earlier this month.

The Central Bank said in a statement that it had launched the platform "in coordination with international bodies for the purpose of ruling and organising window operations for buying and selling foreign currency and ensuring effective control over it”.

The new platform links all banks with the Central Bank and requires banks to disclose information about their customers requesting financial transfers, beneficiaries, correspondent banks and other details.

"The new platform has complicated things more. The actual owners of the money do not want to reveal their identity or the source of their money, so we don’t expect the auction sales to improve soon," one of Sudani's advisers told MEE.

"The pressures are increasing and the situation will get worse if the government does not take decisive measures to contain the crisis. The problem is that the options available are very limited and need time," he said.

The Iraqi parliament has not yet approved the annual budget for 2023, but the amounts allocated for salaries and compensation in the proposed budget, which must be paid in local currency, amount to about 100 trillion dinars ($68bn).

The senior official at the Central Bank told MEE that the bank currently holds about 83 trillion dinars ($56bn), and that quick solutions were needed.

“This does not bode well, and we cannot relax," he said.

“The foreign currency auction window is our primary means to call up the Iraqi currency, so if auction sales remain low, the Central Bank will have to issue a new edition of the local currency."

Devaluation risk

Issuing a new edition of the currency would reduce the value of the dinar and further raise the rate of inflation, officials told MEE.

During their meeting with Sudani and Ghaleb, the leaders of the Coordination Framework rejected the governor’s proposal to issue a new edition of the dinar "as it is a risk that will add new burdens on the shoulders of the government and the citizen", one of the attendees told MEE.

Instead, they urged Sudani and Ghaleb to go to Washington to seek to negotiate a six-month grace period before new measures are brought into force, to allow the government and the Central Bank “to be prepared”.

They also called for audits imposed by the Federal Reserve to be relaxed, for procedures for external money transfers to be quicker, for an increase in the number of official dollar sale outlets, and for tighter controls on dollar smuggling through the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq.

"We know that the new measures strengthen the Iraqi economy despite the great pressure it places on everyone, but this will not last for a long time and they will limit corruption in the currency auction," the leader told MEE.

"The leaders know that private banks and the foreign currency auction represent the infrastructure of major corruption networks in Iraq, so they agreed that fighting corruption will only be achieved by addressing this issue.”

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-usd-smuggling-crackdown-government-struggling-pay-wages

6ly410 · January 20, 2023

The framework assigns the Sudanese a "suicidal" mission in Washington. "Financial truce" to secure employees' salaries

The framework assigns the Sudanese a "suicidal" mission in Washington. "Financial truce" to secure employees' salaries (shafaq.com)

2023-01-20 14:07

Shafaq News / to say the least a disaster An economy that threatens cash liquidity and casts a shadow over the country of black gold, this is how it may seem Iraq's financial landscape, amid dwindling solutions nearby, "the dollar or Dinar?". This time they are both in the boat of no return.

Middle East Eye The British, in a report translated by Shafaq News, highlighted the deep gap in Iraqi money, after the US crackdown on corruption and dollar smuggling, by a machine Global money "Federal Reserve" or as Iraqis know it Well "Federal Bank".

The dinar is fading

The currency auction crisis, new and old at the same time, but it is moving towards complexity In the coming days, especially after the scandal of tax secretariats known as "theft century", the average month of October 2022, consisting of the theft of $ 2.5 billion, or a little more, which resulted in strict restrictions and U.S. tracking not seen since 2003, To weigh heavily on the Iraqi people and cause the collapse of daily trade in dollars through an auction Currency managed by the Central Bank of Iraq.

The government is now facing a shortage of dinars, which has left it struggling to pay salaries The public sector and meeting its other monthly obligations, according to a senior bank official The Central Bank of Iraq, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MEE that "The problem Iraq faces is the scarcity of dinars, not the dollar."

The Iraqi government needs something not Less than eight trillion dinars (about $5.5 billion) a month to pay employees Government, retirees, beneficiaries of social welfare, victims of terrorism and others, This is largely guaranteed by a currency auction.

Most of this liquidity comes from the proceeds of Iraqi oil, which since 2003 has been paid in dollars to an account held by a bank Federal Reserve of New York.

The U.S. Treasury shifts 10 billion Dollars annually to the Central Bank of Iraq from the proceeds of oil sales, in order to enhance its balance in foreign currency.

This amount is also delivered in cash on Four installments. Officials said all dollars are new and have serial numbers registered with Federal Reserve for ease of tracking.

Then he sells the Central Bank of Iraq Dollar through foreign exchange auction and other channels to obtain dinars for the ministry Financial.

Now the decline in dollar sales has caused The shortage of dinars for the Central Bank of Iraq, and even at its peak the auction usually does not collect enough To meet the $275 million that the government needs every day.

This deficiency is usually covered by Currency shares held by the Central Bank, through interbank internal loans and government, or by printing more currencies, or by financial activities other.

The Iraqi parliament has not yet approved Federal budget for 2023, but the amounts allocated for salaries and compensation in The proposed budget, which must be paid in local currency, is about 100 trillion dinars ($68 billion) this year.

The British website quoted an official A senior at the Central Bank of Iraq, saying that "the bank currently owns about 83 One trillion dinars ($56 billion) is only, so quick fixes are needed."

New Currency

Another central bank official stated, According to the website, "the FX auction window is the only way to recover Iraqi currency, so if auction sales remain low, the central bank will have to issuing a new edition of local currency".

The official added, "The issuance of an edition a new currency that would devalue the dinar and further raise the rate of inflation."

Frame and dollar

In this regard, the Middle East Eye report revealed the details of the Held by the Shiite Coordination Framework (the largest political coalition supporting the government), it was limited to senior leaders only, along with Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani and Central Bank Governor Mustafa Ghalib The rise of the dollar and the crisis in the Iraqi markets.

During their meeting with Al-Sudani and Ghalib, The leaders of the coordination framework rejected the governor's proposal to issue a new edition of the dinar, considering This is "a danger that will add new burdens on the shoulders of the government and the citizen."

Instead, the leaders of the framework urged, Sudani and Ghalib, to go to Washington to "seek to negotiate a six-year truce" months before new measures come into effect, to allow the government and central bank Ready."

They also called on the Sudanese to address the side to "ease the audits imposed by the Federal Reserve, and to Procedures for external financial transfers are faster, and the number of official sales outlets increases in dollars, and to tighten control over the smuggling of dollars through the Kurdistan Region, as well."

In the meantime, the British site moved, "We know that the new measures are boosting the economy," Iraqi officials said. Despite the great pressure he exerts on everyone, this will not continue for a long time and will curb corruption in the currency auction."

yota691 · January 21, 2023

The seizure is lifted from the property of the accused, Nour, and a list of arrest warrants related to the theft of tax money is pending

January 20, 2023

Baghdad / Obelisk: A document states that the seizure of real estate and a company belonging to Nour Zuhair, who is accused of looting tax funds, has been lifted, while security expert and political researcher Fadel Abu Ragheef revealed to Al-Obelisk a hot list that will be issued with arrest warrants that will be issued very soon related to the theft of tax funds.

Abu Ragheef said that the seizure of real estate and a company belonging to the accused, Nour Zuhair, has already been lifted, and it is related to properties whose sums were paid to the state.

And Abu Ragheef indicated that he will continue to seize the rest of the property until the full payment process is completed and the investigations are completed.

And he went on: There are properties and real estate that have been seized, and their full prices have been collected for the account of the state treasury, and all the sums that will be collected from him, especially those in his possession or those transferred from him to others in transactions during the era of dealing with this monetary block that was at his disposal, will be returned.
Abu Ragheef predicted that the final fate of all those involved in the looting of tax money is imprisonment, after completing the recovery and other procedures.

At the end of October, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Council issued arrest warrants and travel bans against defendants in the case of tax deposits deposited in the branches of the Rafidain Bank.

Documents received by Al-Obelisk showed that the Second Karkh Investigation Court addressed the Ministry of Interior and the Intelligence Agency to ban travel and arrest and investigate a number of the accused.

An informed source stated, on 11/01/2023, the release of the former head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Haitham Al-Jubouri, who was accused of stealing the century.

The source said that Al-Jubouri was released on a real estate guarantee of 5 billion dinars, according to Al-Ahed TV.

A security force had earlier arrested Haitham al-Jubouri, the financial advisor to the head of the former federal government, on the grounds of his inflated funds.

The arrest came based on the inflated funds of Al-Jubouri, by unknown and illegal methods.

Informed sources said that Al-Jubouri is asking to be released on bail and pledged to recover the inflated amounts, similar to Nour Zuhair, who is accused of stealing the horn.

Earlier, the deputy in the Iraqi parliament, Bassem Khashan, stated that the amount returned by Haitham al-Jubouri's wife is only a small part of the enormous wealth he collected, taking advantage of his position in the House of Representatives (head of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee), and this makes the issue greater than lying about his financial disclosure.

He added: I have previously taken a photo from the page of the Jordanian Companies Control Department showing that Haitham Al-Jubouri owns more than 90% of the shares of three companies registered in Jordan and owns a commercial mall in Amman (Al-Ahwar Mall), and the shops that operate in the mall.

And he continued: I told the Integrity Investigation Court about the illegal enrichment of Haitham Al-Jubouri and his contribution to the theft of Noor Zuhair Jassim and his unknown-well-known accomplices.

Obelisk - follow-up - agencies

yota691 · January 21, 2023

due to the dollar crisis

British report: Iraq is facing an acute shortage of dinars and is struggling to pay salaries

2023.01.21 - 16:17

Baghdad - Nas

Iraqi officials told Middle East Eye in Britain that Iraq is facing a deep gap in its public finances due to the crackdown on corruption and dollar smuggling by the US Federal Reserve since the seizure of tax secretariat funds known as the "theft of the century".

Following is the text of the report:

The crisis, which is expected to worsen in the next few weeks, was caused by the collapse of daily trade in dollars through a currency auction run by the Central Bank of Iraq.

The Iraqi government relies on the auction to convert the dollars it earns from oil revenues into Iraqi dinars. Last year, an average of about $200 million per day was sold through auctions to banks and private companies.

But that number fell sharply in the last two months of the year, dropping to a daily average of $56 million by late December, according to published data.

The government is now facing a dinar shortage, which has left it struggling to pay public sector salaries and meet its other monthly obligations.

"The problem we are facing now in Iraq is the scarcity of Iraqi dinars, not dollars," said a senior official at the Central Bank of Iraq, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Neighboring countries, which rely heavily on Iraq's official foreign exchange markets for dollars, are facing a liquidity crisis as Iran, Turkey and Syria are affected, according to officials in Baghdad.

The crisis has affected the broader economy, as the exchange rate of the dollar in informal markets has increased from 148 dinars to 163 dinars since late November.

The Iraqi officials the website spoke to denied any direct connection between the current crisis and what is known as the “theft of the century,” in which about $2.5 billion was stolen from the Iraqi Tax Authority through a state-owned bank between September 2021 and August 2022. .

But they acknowledged that the US Federal Reserve imposed tighter controls on private banks buying dollars through auction two months ago, just weeks after Iraq's Finance Ministry disclosed details of the theft on Oct. 10.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in October that most of the stolen money was believed to have been smuggled out of Iraq.

In November, Judge Haider Hanoon, head of the Federal Integrity Commission (FCI), the anti-corruption watchdog in Iraq, said Iraq had asked for help from friendly governments, international organizations and the United Nations to recover the stolen funds.

One of my advisors to Al-Sudani, who spoke to the English website on the condition of anonymity, said that the Federal Reserve began examining foreign money transfers in November in an effort to track stolen funds.

The consultant said this caused delays in the release of remittances and led to lower dollar sales through auction.

The chancellor said the Fed also provided source checks for funds held by private banks participating in the auction, prompting many of them to pull out and raise the unofficial exchange rate.

Crisis meeting

In late December, the Coordination Framework, the largest political alliance supporting the government, held a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the high cost of the dollar and the crisis in Iraqi markets.

The meeting was confined to the senior leaders of the Sudanese coalition and the governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb.

Ghaleb told the meeting that the Federal Reserve has “dangerous indications” of dollar smuggling operations to neighboring countries, according to a leader who attended the meeting.

One of the attendees said that Ghaleb appointed two Egyptian banks based in Dubai, to whom most of the dollars bought in the auction were transferred during the period under investigation. Then the dollars were transferred to Amman in Jordan, and then to Iran.

The leader said that four private Iraqi banks that transferred the bulk of the funds to the two Egyptian banks received orders from the Central Bank of Iraq to stop dealing with them in November, based on a directive from the Federal Reserve Board.

According to a document seen by the British website, the central bank also ordered banks and other financial institutions to stop dealing in dollars with the four banks "for audit purposes" on November 6.

This was challenged in the lawsuits filed against the Central Bank by the four banks - Al-Ansari Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, Al-Qasab Islamic Bank for Finance and Investment, Asia Iraq Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, and the Iraqi Middle East Bank. Investment Bank.

But their cases were dismissed this week by the Financial Services Court, which asserted the Fed's right to block them from dealing in dollars.

A financial advisor involved in the “theft of the century” investigation said the incident had provided the Federal Reserve with “definitive evidence of theft of government funds taken with government tools.”

"They couldn't turn a blind eye to it," said the consultant. It provided the required incentive for the Federal Reserve to impose its procedures on private banks and the Central Bank of Iraq.

“They [Americans] have been looking for this opportunity since 2014 to pounce on foreign currency auction sales, but previous prime ministers always got exceptions under the pretext of buying electricity, fuel and other things from Iran.

But this time the story is different.

MEE has contacted the Federal Reserve for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

revenue from oil sales

The Iraqi government needs at least eight trillion dinars (about $5.5 billion) per month to pay the salaries of government employees, retirees, welfare beneficiaries, victims of terrorism, and others, and this is largely secured through the currency auction.

Most of this comes from Iraqi oil revenues, which have been paid out since 2003 in dollars into an account maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The US Treasury transfers $10 billion annually to the Central Bank of Iraq from oil sales revenues, in order to boost its foreign currency balance.

This amount is to be delivered in cash in four instalments. Officials said all of the dollars are new and have serial numbers on file with the Federal Reserve to make them easier to track.

After that, the Central Bank of Iraq sells the dollar through a foreign currency auction and other channels to obtain a dinar for the benefit of the Ministry of Finance.

Now, the decline in dollar sales has caused a shortage of dinars for the Central Bank of Iraq. Even at its peak, the auction usually doesn't raise enough to meet the $275 million the government needs each day.

This shortfall is usually covered from stocks of currency held by the central bank, through internal loans between the bank and the government, by printing more currency, or through other financial activities.

Foreign currency auction data for the past four years reviewed by the site shows that the amount of dollars in circulation remained stable, averaging about $200 million per day during 2019 and 2020, despite the decline in oil prices, the Covid epidemic, and the recession.

6ly410 · January 21, 2023

Due to the dollar crisis

British report: Iraq faces severe shortage of dinars and struggles to pay salaries

2023.01.21 - 16:17

Baghdad - Nas

Iraqi officials told Middle East Eye in Britain that Iraq is facing a deep gap in its public finances due to the crackdown on corruption and dollar smuggling by the US Federal Reserve since the seizure of tax trust funds, known in the media as the "theft of the century."

The report reads as follows:

The crisis, which is expected to worsen in the next few weeks, was caused by the collapse of daily dollar trade through a currency auction run by the Central Bank of Iraq.

The Iraqi government relies on auction to convert the dollars it earns from oil revenues into Iraqi dinars. Last year, about $200 million a day was sold on average through auction to banks and private companies.

But that figure fell sharply in the last two months of the year, falling to a daily average of $56 million by late December, according to published data.

The government is now facing a shortage of dinars that has left it struggling to pay public sector salaries and meet its other monthly obligations.

A senior official at the Central Bank of Iraq, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "The problem we face now in Iraq is the scarcity of the Iraqi dinar, not the dollar."

Neighboring countries, which rely heavily on Iraq's official foreign exchange markets for dollars, are facing a liquidity crisis with Iran, Turkey and Syria affected, according to officials in Baghdad.

The crisis has affected the wider economy, with the dollar exchange rate in informal markets rising from 148 dinars to 163 dinars since late November.

Iraqi officials interviewed by the website denied any direct link between the current crisis and what is known as the "theft of the century," in which about $2.5 billion was stolen from the Iraqi Tax Authority through a state-owned bank between September 2021 and August 2022. .

But they acknowledged that the U.S. Federal Reserve imposed stricter controls on private banks buying dollars through auction two months ago, just weeks after Iraq's Finance Ministry revealed details of the theft on Oct. 10.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in October that most of the stolen money was believed to have been smuggled out of Iraq.

In November, Judge Haidar Hanoun, head of the Federal Integrity Commission (FCI), Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog, said Iraq had requested help from friendly governments, international organizations and the United Nations to recover stolen funds.

One of Sudani's advisers, who spoke to the English website on condition of anonymity, said the Federal Reserve began screening offshore money transfers in November in an effort to track stolen funds.

The adviser said this caused delays in the release of remittances and led to a decline in dollar sales through the auction.

The adviser said the Fed also provided checks on the source of funds held by private banks participating in the auction, prompting many to pull out and raise the unofficial exchange rate.

Crisis Meeting

In late December, the Coordination Framework, the largest pro-government political alliance, held a meeting in Baghdad to discuss the rising cost of the dollar and the crisis in Iraqi markets.

The meeting was limited to senior leaders of the Sudanese coalition and Central Bank Governor Mustafa Ghalib.

Ghalib told the meeting that the Federal Reserve had "serious indications" of dollar smuggling to neighboring countries, according to a leader who attended the meeting.

One attendee said Ghaleb appointed two Egyptian banks based in Dubai to whom most of the dollars purchased at auction had been transferred in the period under investigation. Then the dollars were transferred to Amman in Jordan, and then to Iran.

The leader said that four private Iraqi banks that transferred the bulk of the funds to the two Egyptian banks received orders from the Central Bank of Iraq to stop dealing with them in November, based on a directive from the Federal Reserve.

According to a document seen by the British website, the central bank also ordered banks and other financial institutions to stop dealing dollars with the four banks "for audit purposes" on November 6.

This was challenged in the lawsuits filed against the Central Bank by the four banks – Al Ansari Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, Al Qabb Islamic Bank for Finance and Investment, Asia Iraq Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, and Middle East Bank of Iraq. Investment Bank.

But their cases were dismissed this week by the Financial Services Court, which affirmed the Federal Reserve's right to block them from dealing in dollars.

A financial adviser involved in the "Theft of the Century" investigation said the incident had provided the Fed with "conclusive evidence of theft of government funds taken with government instruments.

"They couldn't turn a blind eye to it," the adviser said. It provided the required incentive for the Federal Reserve to impose its measures on private banks and the Central Bank of Iraq.

"They [the Americans] have been looking for this opportunity since 2014 to pounce on foreign exchange auction sales, but previous prime ministers have always got exceptions under the pretext of buying electricity, fuel and other things from Iran.

But this time the story is different.

MEE contacted the Federal Reserve for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Proceeds from oil sales

The Iraqi government needs at least eight trillion dinars (about $5.5 billion) per month to pay government employees, retirees, welfare beneficiaries, victims of terrorism and others, and this is largely secured through a currency auction.

Much of this comes from Iraqi oil revenues, which have been paid since 2003 in dollars in an account held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The U.S. Treasury Department transfers $10 billion annually to the Central Bank of Iraq from revenues from oil sales, in order to boost its foreign currency balance.

This amount is delivered in cash in four installments. Officials said all dollars are new and have serial numbers registered with the Federal Reserve to make them easier tracked.

The Central Bank of Iraq then sells the dollar through a foreign currency auction and other channels to obtain a dinar for the Ministry of Finance.

Now the decline in dollar sales has caused a shortage of dinars for the Central Bank of Iraq. Even at its peak, the auction usually doesn't raise enough to meet the $275 million the government needs each day.

This shortage is usually covered by currency stocks held by the central bank, through internal bank-government loans, by printing more currency, or by other financial activities.

Foreign exchange auction data for the past four years reviewed by the site shows that the amount of dollars in circulation has remained stable, averaging around $200 million per day during 2019 and 2020, despite lower oil prices, the Covid pandemic and the recession.

6ly410 · January 22, 2023

The dollar will get "worse" in weeks and salaries are at stake. An international reading of the Iraqi economy

Baghdad Today

The dollar will get "worse" in weeks and salaries are at stake. An international reading of the Iraqi economy

4 minutes ago

Baghdad Today - Translation

The Iraqi economy is under great pressure during the current and coming period, according to the Middle East Eye network, which expected that the coming weeks will witness a greater deterioration in the value of the Iraqi dinar within the current crisis it is going through due to the restrictions imposed by the US Federal Reserve.

The network, through its report, which was translated by (Baghdad Today), confirmed that "officials from within the Central Bank of Iraq spoke to her secretly, about the nature of the current crisis, stressing that Iraq "does not suffer from a shortage of dollars, but the dinar," in reference to Iraq's dependence on the dollar to obtain the Iraqi dinar from the markets.

"Middle East Eye" also confirmed that "Iraq's neighboring countries, including Turkey, Iran and Syria, are under economic pressure due to the US restrictions imposed on the Iraqi treasury of the dollar," where Central Bank officials confirmed during their conversation with her, that "the general economy in the region is under danger due to US restrictions."

She pointed out that "the Iraqi government will "suffer" starting from the next few weeks to pay the salaries and entitlements of employees and retirees," explaining that "the Iraqi government will obtain dollars from the sale of oil through its account with the US Federal Reserve, and then sell the dollar through local outlets to obtain the dinar provided to the Ministry of Finance in order to pay the salaries and entitlements of employees and beneficiaries of the public sector."

She added that "with the dwindling quantities of dollars that reach Iraq, and previously reached ten billion annually allocated to cover salaries, the Iraqi authorities will not be able to pay the salaries of employees in Iraqi dinars, as they will lose their ability to collect dinars from the market by replacing them with dollars as they used to do previously," which was confirmed by one of the prime minister's advisers in an exclusive interview with the network.

The adviser, who declined to be identified, told MEE that "the significant decline in the sale of dollars due to the scarcity of its access from the Federal Reserve to a crisis in the currency auction, which is unable to sell enough dollars to cover its daily need and from the dinar, which reaches a minimum of about $ 275 million, the government must sell it daily to get enough dinars from local markets to cover its need."

The exchange rates between the dollar and the dinar reached a "historic" decline through the currency auction, according to the network, where it sometimes recorded a decline to about $ 3 million only for some days, noting that "the measures that the Central Bank is taking, including selling dollars directly to citizens and excluding exchange brokers in order to obtain more dinars" are no longer enough.

The report of the network, explained that "the Central Bank reached the sales of the dollar against the dinar to about $ 90 million only, out of $ 275 million daily necessary to meet the government's need for dinars," stressing quoting one of Sudani's advisers, "We expect during the next few weeks a greater deterioration in the crisis after the launch of the Central Bank an electronic platform to sell the dollar," explaining that "most individuals do not want to disclose their personal information or sources of income through which they obtained the dollar to the official website within The process currently required to sell dollars to them through central bank outlets."

He added that "the pressure is increasing with the decline in Iraq's stock of dinars and its inability to meet its need by selling dollars, the situation will deteriorate further unless urgent measures are taken to contain the crisis," adding, "The problem is that we do not have enough options, or enough time," as he put it.

The adviser also pointed out that the currency auction is "the only way through which the Iraqi government can summon the Iraqi dinar from the markets to recycle it into the economy through salaries and dues again, and with dollar sales remaining low, the central bank must print more currencies," which the network stressed will lead to "inflation" and "the dinar losing more of its current value," thus maximizing the crisis further.

rvmydinar · January 22, 2023

35 minutes ago, 6ly410 said:

The dollar will get "worse" in weeks and salaries are at stake.

Then what are you waiting for? Start paying the salaries with your own currency , Iraq dinar and RV the Iqd to become the strongest currency in the middle east period. That's the best solution.

jeepguy · January 22, 2023

8 minutes ago, rvmydinar said:

Then what are you waiting for? Start paying the salaries with your own currency , Iraq dinar and RV the Iqd to become the strongest currency in the middle east period. That's the best solution.

that`s what everyone is thinking i bet ! get off the teet, and stand you currency up against the value of the dollar.

revalue your dinar to even .50 cents per dinar and those denominations will flow right back to you .

( tomorrow will be find 😉 )

rvmydinar · January 22, 2023

5 hours ago, jeepguy said:

revalue your dinar to even .50 cents per dinar

I like how you come up with 50 cents. And, I think everyone doesn't mind either. Again , we can only hope. Only time will tell.

6ly410 · January 22, 2023

Newspapers continue to follow the dollar crisis and talk about the failure of the House of Representatives to address it and the possibility of inability to pay salaries.

Monday 23 , January 2023 01:04 |journalismViews: 130

Newspapers continue to follow the dollar crisis and talk about the failure of the House of Representatives to address it and the possibility of inability to pay salaries (ninanews-com.translate.goog)

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Baghdad /Nina/ Newspapers published in Baghdad on Monday, the twenty-third of January, continued to follow the effects of the rise in dollar exchange rates on the economic situation and living of citizens, and talked about the possibility of the government's inability to pay the salaries of employees and retirees and the failure of Parliament to address the crisis. Al-Zawraa newspaper, which is issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, focused on the issue of fears of the worsening crisis of the rise in dollar exchange rates and its impact on the salaries of employees and retirees.

In this regard, she referred to the statement of the MP for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Majid Shankali: "The security campaign launched by the government to control the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar will not solve the problem of rise," stressing The need to deal with licensed offices that are entitled to buy dollars from the Central Bank of Iraq because no one can buy dollars at the official rate except banks and licensed exchange offices.
He added: “In the past, the dollar was sold with fake invoices and through which the currency is smuggled to Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and many countries, while today there is an electronic platform and banks that enter the currency auction were notified of the standards of the platform more than 6 months ago, but they have not applied these standards so far, so they cannot buy the required quantities of dollars.”
He pointed out: “Many traders do not come today to buy currency officially, but go to buy through the existing stock exchange offices for customs and tax evasion, because when they buy from the Central Bank, there will be official invoices that are accounted for customs and tax, so they go to other sources for tax evasion, " stressing: "The dollar is in the Central Bank and the Central Bank can sell it in the required quantity if traders come with official invoices, because some traders take the dollar on the basis of For example, to import 1,000 tons of a substance, when in fact 100 tons are imported, and 900 tons are fictitious.”

Shankali explained: "There is a problem that will be in Iraq, every new month we need the dinar by selling the dollar and converting it into dinars for salary distribution," pointing out: "Today we have 80.6 trillion Iraqi dinars total cash mass in circulation, how many of them are in Iraqi banks, no one knows.”
The economic expert, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, said: "The scarcity of the Iraqi dinar necessary to cover public expenditures, including salaries, is one of the biggest problems that the Central Bank of Iraq will soon face due to the significant decline in the Central Bank's sales of the US dollar, which may force it to print more dinars, which will weaken its value and increase the rise in prices and exacerbate poverty and unemployment in Iraq.
On the same subject, the newspaper / Al-Zaman / said: “The private exchange shops in Al-Kifah Street were completely closed after the economic security detachments arrested a number of dollar speculators during raids carried out in the stock exchanges Al-Harithiya and Al-Kifah in Baghdad.”

It quoted a security source: "The force of economic security, raided the central stock exchanges struggle and Harithia central Baghdad, and arrested a group of owners of dollar exchange offices for monopolizing the exchange of currency."
It quoted economist Nabil Jabbar al-Tamimi as saying: “The security treatment of the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges is related to the activity of exchange offices in making illegal transfers, or what is known as black transfers.”
He added: "These remittances are behind the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar in the local market."

The economist pointed out: “Controlling and reducing black remittances will contribute to reducing the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar in the market, and this is the reason for the raid on the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges by economic security .”
He explained: Black remittances go out of the banking system, to neighboring countries, and there is interference in the banking system.
As for the newspaper / Al-Sabah / which is issued by the Iraqi Media Network, has followed the position of the House of Representatives on the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar, and talked about its failure to address it.

The newspaper said: “The efforts of dozens of deputies to hold a parliamentary session dedicated to discussing the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar and the accompanying rise in the prices of commodities and foodstuffs, and its negative impact on the lives of citizens. "
In an interview with Al-Sabah, a member of the House of Representatives, Bassem Nghimish, called on the government to take appropriate solutions to solve the problem of the high dollar exchange rate, noting that "MPs will go to file a lawsuit against the Speaker of Parliament if he continues not to include the issue of the rise in the dollar exchange rate on the agenda of the sessions.”
Ngimesh said: “The deputies had previously submitted a request for the signature of 80 vice presidents to include the subject in the work of the first session of the current legislative term, and the approval of the presidency was obtained to include it, but we were He was surprised that it was not actually included in the agenda, and then there was a press conference for a group of deputies to object to the actions of the speaker of the council.

He added: “The Speaker of the House of Representatives hosted the Governor of the Central Bank with a group of deputies in private, which was a strong objection because most of the deputies wanted to attend him inside the parliament session to find out the reasons for the rise in the dollar exchange rate,” pointing out: “There are many questions among the deputies that need a clear and frank answer from the Governor of the Central Bank and the government and know their positive solutions, which we have not yet seen a positive impact."

yota691 · January 23, 2023

to address the crisis

An expert warns against printing more dinars

2023.01.22 - 14:01

Baghdad - Nas

On Sunday, Professor of Economics at the University of Basra, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, warned against printing more dinars, as he said it would weaken its value.

Al-Marsoumi mentioned in a post followed by “Nass” (January 22, 2023), that “the scarcity of the Iraqi dinar needed to cover public expenses, including salaries, is one of the biggest problems that the Central Bank of Iraq will soon face due to the significant decrease in the central bank’s sales of US dollars, which may force it.” To print more dinars, which will weaken its value, increase prices and exacerbate poverty and unemployment in Iraq.

Earlier, Iraqi officials told Middle East Eye in Britain that Iraq is facing a deep gap in its public finances due to the campaign to suppress corruption and dollar smuggling by the US Federal Reserve since the seizure of tax secretariat funds, known in the media as the "theft of the century."