On Sunday, Hussein Arab, a member of the House of Representatives, disclosed that a Jordanian bank had taken control of 75% of dollar transfers in Iraq. He also warned about the increase in dollar value while revealing the extent of the “forbidden” trade.
Arab, in an interview with Al-Sumaria TV’s Twenty program, highlighted the significant failures in the dollar and parallel market issue. He pointed out confirmed reports of the National Bank of Iraq (a Jordanian bank) acquiring 75% of foreign transfers. Arab emphasized the need to hold the bank accountable and find out the reasons behind the acquisition of this percentage from the Central Bank auction.
A House of Representatives member asked about the National Bank of Iraq’s liquidity and whether it is commensurate with the volume of dollars it receives from the Central Bank. The member also highlighted that the Central Bank supplements the National Bank with dollars from external sources. The member further expressed the need to understand the mechanism for transferring dollars through the Central Bank.
He pondered, “It’s a real disaster to limit financial transfers to only one out of 73 banks.” He further questioned, “Why do we allocate this amount of dollars to the National Bank of Iraq (Jordan)? Is the entire Iraqi economy dependent on this bank?” He revealed that the Central Bank did not transfer dollars to this bank through its electronic platform or direct purchase, as it is just a regular bank.
Arab stated that the Iraqi private banking sector was sacrificed to revive the foreign banking sector within Iraq. He also warned that the central bank’s mistakes, extortions, and arbitrary measures will soon force the Iraqi private banks to shut down. He emphasized that the upcoming situation will be challenging.
According to him, if the issue is not dealt with, the prices in dollars will continue to rise. He pointed out that Iraq’s neighboring countries’ dollar crisis has had a negative impact on their land. Former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was allowed by America to grant the dollar to Iran, but these allowances have now ended.
Arab emphasized the need to stop the $10 billion annual volume of prohibited trade by eliminating smuggling sources and implementing swift government actions.
He stated that alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and gold are imported through the border crossings at a zero percent rate, despite the fact that their taxes are 200%. This indicates that most of these items are likely being smuggled through the crossings in Kurdistan. He also mentioned that there are cases of currency smuggling and tax and customs evasion taking place at the border crossings.
