How they payed for their new currency

[randalln]

Features

Licence to print money

Thursday 15 January 2009SOLOMON HUGHES Printable Email GORDON Brown's announcement that British troops will finally scuttle out of Iraq in May gives us a few months to prepare the accounts.

The direct cost of the war in Britain is around £5 billion. Our contribution helped to consume hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, but it is hard to account for them because Western governments don't count the Iraqi dead.

For these billions of pounds and hundreds of thousands of lives, the Iraqis get a country where a veneer of democracy covers a network of warlords and an administration that can't deliver water, electricity or jobs.

The books don't seem to balance very well.

But not everyone is in deficit, according to some papers that I got hold of under the Freedom of Information Act.

In 2003, more than a million people protested outside Whitehall against the attack on Iraq.

At around the same time, a group of lobbyists from a firm called De La Rue was inside Whitehall trying to make money from the war before it had even started.

De La Rue is a security printer that part owns the National Lottery, but its speciality is printing banknotes.

On March 18 2003, two days before the Iraq invasion, De La Rue executives met Foreign Office and Treasury officials and "made a sales pitch" to print Iraq's currency after Saddam Hussein was killed.

De La Rue went on to both win the contract and then employ Britain's most senior official in Iraq.

Official papers show that the Foreign Office was receptive to De La Rue's arguments.

Whitehall mandarins wrote: "In post-war Iraq, the largest threat will probably come from (US/Swedish firm) Crane/Tumba."

The fact that officials discussing a looming war could describe a US firm as "the largest threat" shows that they regarded Iraq as a commercial battleground as well as a military one.

It also helps to explain why post-war Iraq is such a mess - our officials were too busy trying to carve up contracts between British and US firms to work out how to help Iraqis run their own country.

De La Rue won its Iraq battle.

In July 2003, a meeting of the "ad hoc ministerial group on Iraq rehabilitation," a group including then prime minister Tony Blair, along with the then foreign and defence secretaries, was told that persistent Foreign Office lobbying had paid off in a "positive policy move developed in consultation with us."

The Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq commissioned new dinar notes "largely printed by the UK company De La Rue."

While the company insists that the size of the deal is confidential, according to official papers there was a "$120 million contract to print the new Iraqi currency."

In July 2003, Iraq had already gone through destructive post-war looting.

In that month, US military officials admitted that they faced a "classic guerilla-type campaign," yet Blair, Jack Straw and Geoff Hoon were all cheering themselves up with the "positive" news of De La Rue's Iraq windfall.

Many of the post-war Iraq contracts awarded to Western firms were badly managed.

Low electricity production, dirty water, jerry-building, poor accounting and plain corruption all marred the reconstruction effort.

De La Rue, by contrast, made a success of printing the new banknotes. Iraq's occupiers wanted a new currency to get Saddam's face off the country's banknotes and ensure that post-war Iraq wasn't destabilised either by Ba'athists using stockpiles of Saddam dinars or criminals forging notes.

However, there was a crucial difference between the Ba'athist and British approach to the dinar.

Official papers show that, before the war, Iraq had "approached De La Rue frequently to attempt to source cotton watermark paper on which to print but been declined."

Saddam wanted De La Rue to help Iraq's central bank print its own, more secure currency.

Instead, under the occupation, the entire operation was outsourced from Baghdad to Basingstoke, where De La Rue has its offices.

De La Rue was paid from money raised by selling Iraqi oil. The $120 million that it received came from the Development Fund for Iraq - an account filled with Iraqi oil money but administered by the occupiers.

The possibility of helping the Iraqis to print their own notes, through fresh supplies of high-quality paper or retooling the mint, was simply never considered.

Instead, De La Rue printed the banknotes in England and flew them to Iraq in 27 specially chartered 747 aeroplanes.

While the contract swelled De La Rue's coffers, it did little to rebuild Iraq as a sovereign nation.

The new Iraqi government was weak, isolated and without independence from the occupiers.

The fact that it couldn't even print its own currency was part of this weakness.

One privatisation begat another. Not only was Iraq's new money made in England but the contract to distribute the cash was awarded to Western companies.

Private contractors, including British firms such as Global Security, ferried the new notes around Iraq.

The occupation may have removed Saddam's likeness from Iraq's banknotes, but the replacements were printed abroad and then shipped throughout the country by British firms employing Fijian and Nepalese mercenaries. The Iraqis' involvement in their own money supply was kept to a minimum.

Some people seem to have done well from the deal. In June 2003, one month before De La Rue was paid with Iraqi money to print Iraqi money, leading Foreign Office official Jeremy Greenstock was appointed as Tony Blair's special envoy to Iraq.

Greenstock became deputy to the US viceroy. In March 2005, Greenstock joined the board of De La Rue, the firm whose profits were bolstered by the Iraq occupation.

Solomon Hughes's book War On Terror, Inc: Corporate Profiteering From The Politics Of Fear (Verso, £16.99) is available from all good booksellers.

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Edited June 23, 2011 by randalln

[Fearless Four]

Thanks for a great article.

[randalln]

120 mill x (.062073)the cost per note=7,448,760 notes in various denominations even if they were all 25k thats only 186 billion in dinar. It is estimated that there is trillions out there .BS BS BS

They were only authorized 1 trillion by the IMF

[pro1]

awesome find!

[a1911handler]

YAWN.

This article reeks of conspiracy theory. Who cares who printed the money and how much they profited off of it?

The real beneifit is to the country of Iraq, and someday, someway, the citizens will be able to use their RV'd Dinar to puchase goods from the world over and not have to worry about their Dinar being worthless in the eyes of the world.

The cash was printed by a company with the foresight to go in and create a demand for the conract and then fulfill it. The last time I thought about this, it was called free market enterprise.

[Mudster]

120 mill x (.062073)the cost per note=7,448,760 notes in various denominations even if they were all 25k thats only 186 billion in dinar. It is estimated that there is trillions out there .BS BS BS

They were only authorized 1 trillion by the IMF

not sure where the math is here, but i get around 1.933 billion notes printed which makes the avg note value 14,000ish.

[design interrupted]

Randilln,

First, let me say thank you for the post.

Secondly, I am curious...if you have made arrangements with a bank at $1.27, and you will be getting your pay out soon, why are you still searching for info on Iraq and the elusive RV? If you are just that generous, trying to help the rest of us, good for you. If I knew the ride was over I'd be sipping champagne on the Champs Elysses.

[dre396]

120 mill x (.062073)the cost per note=7,448,760 notes in various denominations even if they were all 25k thats only 186 billion in dinar. It is estimated that there is trillions out there .BS BS BS

They were only authorized 1 trillion by the IMF

so the $27 trillion number is false?

[randalln]

Randilln,

First, let me say thank you for the post.

Secondly, I am curious...if you have made arrangements with a bank at $1.27, and you will be getting your pay out soon, why are you still searching for info on Iraq and the elusive RV? If you are just that generous, trying to help the rest of us, good for you. If I knew the ride was over I'd be sipping champagne on the Champs Elysses.

Not searching. Just some info i had for a wail .I keep seeing people confuse good hard working people with bogus facts .Causing them to second guess there dissipation .And it makes me mad .So i thought i would put to bed the 27 trillion s#!t. Because it just ant so .I was there in the beginning of all this in Tikrit,Iraq may 2003 on a base paying Iraqis with dinar.I know what im talking about these gurus that say 27 trillion are full of it.

I also heard some guy here today say that America is in 70-100 trillion debt. but i think most of you know thats BS. So no need to reply

But sorry if i dont fit the normal TAKE ALL YOU CAN AND RUN profile of most of the people here. My mama would roll in her grave.

One man can make a difference

[MovieMaker]

Thanks for sharing

[randalln]

I know Its hard to see how they could pay all that money if it was 27 Trillion

But its more like 968 billion and some change just some figures i have left from my old job.

and thats with the new bills or (low denoms)

Edited June 24, 2011 by randalln

[randalln]

Randilln,

First, let me say thank you for the post.

Secondly, I am curious...if you have made arrangements with a bank at $1.27, and you will be getting your pay out soon, why are you still searching for info on Iraq and the elusive RV? If you are just that generous, trying to help the rest of us, good for you. If I knew the ride was over I'd be sipping champagne on the Champs Elysses.

And as far as champagne .Im a beer man and I've drank beer in just about every country that even has beer.I find its more fun to drink here at home with my friends and tell my stories of the places I've went .

After 9 years in the ME. its nice to here english once and a wail .

Edited June 24, 2011 by randalln

[R Veyron]

I was afraid you were going to say they paid for their new currency by selling amiericans their current dinar. That would of been sneeky and wrong. I like your post better. Thanks.

[JaredWhite]

120 mill x (.062073)the cost per note=7,448,760 notes in various denominations even if they were all 25k thats only 186 billion in dinar. It is estimated that there is trillions out there .BS BS BS

They were only authorized 1 trillion by the IMF

Just wondering, where did you get the price per note?

[quadraph0nic]

i guess u don't like what cbi shares in their key financials under statistics on their website

this only goes to 2008 but how about this?

<data in local currency>

(M2)

2008 36,929,530,000,000.00

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/iraq/money-and-quasi-money

and notice who the source is on that...IMF

[randalln]

i guess u don't like what cbi shares in their key financials under statistics on their website

this only goes to 2008 but how about this?

<data in local currency>

(M2)

2008 36,929,530,000,000.00

http://www.indexmund...and-quasi-money

and notice who the source is on that...IMF

do your research thats M2 not cash come on guy thats what the country is worth

[quadraph0nic]

do your research thats M2 not cash come on guy thats what the country is worth

Well i didnt see so much a of a difference as their M1 is still reported at 50 trill.

What's wrong with they key financials excel spreadsheet on cbi's website?

ITs doesn't show what you want to see?

[design interrupted]

Not searching. Just some info i had for a wail .I keep seeing people confuse good hard working people with bogus facts .Causing them to second guess there dissipation .And it makes me mad .So i thought i would put to bed the 27 trillion s#!t. Because it just ant so .I was there in the beginning of all this in Tikrit,Iraq may 2003 on a base paying Iraqis with dinar.I know what im talking about these gurus that say 27 trillion are full of it.

I also heard some guy here today say that America is in 70-100 trillion debt. but i think most of you know thats BS. So no need to reply

But sorry if i dont fit the normal TAKE ALL YOU CAN AND RUN profile of most of the people here. My mama would roll in her grave.

One man can make a difference

Thanks for the response. Greatly appreciated.

And as far as champagne .Im a beer man and I've drank beer in just about every country that even has beer.I find its more fun to drink here at home with my friends and tell my stories of the places I've went .

After 9 years in the ME. its nice to here english once and a wail .

I'm a farm girl at heart who appreciates the big city once and awhile I'm just as comfy in a ball gown sipping champagne as I am in jeans tipping back Long Island Iced Teas. As long as family and friends are aound it's good either way! Thanks again.