TNT – “Tidbits From TNT” Tuesday 11-7-2023

Tishwash:  Through travelers… new controls for declaring funds leaving and entering Iraq 

On Tuesday, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Office issued a new decision regarding money and currencies carried by travelers.

The office stated in a statement received by Al-Iqtisad News, “Based on the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law No. 39 of 2015 related to obligating every person upon entering or leaving Iraq to declare, upon request from a representative of the General Authority of Customs, the money, currencies, or tools he carries.” Money that is negotiable to the bearer or transferred inside or outside Iraq through a person, postal service, shipping service, or by any other means.

He added, “The measure comes to reduce the risks of bringing money in and out across the Iraqi border and exploiting that for money laundering or terrorist financing operations.”  link

Tishwash:  An economic expert details the reasons for the rise in the dollar: What is happening in Iraq is organized smuggling

Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi detailed on Tuesday the reasons for the rise in dollar prices, while noting that what is happening in Iraq is organized smuggling of the dollar.

Al-Marsoumi told Earth News Agency, “What is happening in Iraq is not speculation with the black dollar in the parallel market, but rather what is happening on the ground is an organized smuggling operation of travelers’ dollars or cash dollars for two basic reasons.”

Al-Marsoumi added, “The first reason lies in the fact that some of the goods imported from abroad that are not included in the electronic platform, including gold, drugs, alcoholic beverages, and cigarettes, some of which have a very large value, that is, no less than a quarter of a billion dollars annually, on the one hand.”

He added, “On the other hand, there is a strong demand for the dollar in the parallel market because of the need for it in order to settle commercial initiatives or Iraq’s imports of Iranian goods, which amount to 10 billion dollars annually due to the sanctions imposed on it, which prevent the settlement of commercial transactions with bank transfers.”

He pointed out that there is “a large segment of travelers who intend to travel to countries sanctioned by America. These people do not obtain the dollar at the official price, but rather from the parallel market, which has led to a widening of the gap between the parallel and official prices in the Iraqi market.”  link

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CandyKisses:  The Central Bank of Iraq resumes the sale of gold bullion and coins through an electronic platform

 Shafaq News / The Central Bank of Iraq decided, as of Wednesday, to resume the sale of gold bullion and coins through an “electronic platform”.

The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed in a statement that government and private banks can apply to buy gold bullion and coins through (an electronic platform dedicated to this purpose), noting that their sale will be in accordance with the instructions and controls issued by the Central Bank of Iraq.

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Tishwash:  Rafidain Bank requires retirees to receive salaries electronically

On Monday, Rafidain Bank announced the obligation of retirees to receive salaries via electronic card, and called on those who receive their salaries manually to issue them as soon as possible.

A statement from the bank said that the directive is part of “commitment to government directives in simplifying procedures and adopting electronic payment systems in distributing salaries .”

The bank called on retirees who receive their salaries manually to “review the nearest issuance center in the bank’s branches in Baghdad and the governorates, with the required official documents, for the purpose of issuing and activating the electronic card in order to receive the retirement salary.”  link

The bank confirmed that it had issued a directive to “its branches to oblige retirees who receive their monthly salaries manually, and to inform them of expediting the completion of the issuance of the electronic card and receiving it for free.”