Warning That Iraqi Funds Remain With The US Federal Bank - Urgent, 26 OCT

 Warning That Iraqi Funds Remain With The US Federal Bank - Urgent

Economy |Today   Baghdad today - Baghdad   Today, Thursday (October 26, 2023), economic expert Saleh Al-Sarfi warned of the consequences of Iraqi funds remaining with the US Federal Bank, noting that their presence may constitute a tool of pressure exerted by Washington on Baghdad. 

The banker said in an interview with "Baghdad Today", "All Iraqi oil funds are deposited directly in a special account in the US Federal Bank, and Baghdad is submitting a request to obtain the funds to cover operational expenses and the rest of the other obligations," pointing out that "this procedure is not recent, but has been adopted." During the economic blockade in the nineties of the last century after the application of the oil-for-food principle.

He added, "Washington's excuses for keeping Iraq's funds under its control at the Federal Reserve are due to the state of political instability and the consideration that the country is going through complex and unstable circumstances, in addition to protecting the funds from a large number of cases filed against Baghdad as a result of previous wars."

He pointed out that "there are risks from Iraqi funds remaining in the US Federal Reserve, most notably the direct impact of any crisis that strikes the American economy, in addition to it being considered a pressure tool that Washington can exert towards Baghdad." 

On October 6, Washington rejected Iraq's request to obtain one billion dollars in cash from the Federal Reserve Bank, under the pretext that it conflicts with their efforts to curb Baghdad's use of the dollar and stop illicit cash flows to Iran.

The American Wall Street Journal reported that since the American invasion of Iraq two decades ago, the United States has provided $10 billion or more annually to Baghdad via bi-monthly cargo flights, and the money is derived from the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales deposited with the Federal Reserve Bank.

American officials said, "Banknotes in the hands of Iraqis have become a lucrative source of illicit dollars that go back to militias and corrupt politicians, as well as to Iran."

By applying for an additional $1 billion shipment, Iraq says it needs the money to help prop up its faltering currency. A senior Iraqi official explained that "last week, the Central Bank of Iraq submitted an official request that the Treasury Ministry is still studying, after Washington rejected the initial request submitted by Iraq last month."

According to the newspaper, since last November, Washington has prevented 18 Iraqi banks from dealing in dollars, adopting stricter rules for electronic transfers in dollars from its banks.

Treasury officials told Iraqi central bank governors that sending a large additional shipment conflicts with Washington's goal of limiting Iraq's use of US banknotes, Iraqi officials said.

American officials spoke of conclusive evidence that some of the dollars that were arriving in Iraq were smuggled in cash over the years to Iran, as well as to Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman said regarding the Iraqi request, “The United States continues to support Iraq with dollar banknotes and has not restricted its access to ordinary Iraqis and businesses,” indicating continued work with the Central Bank of Iraq.   LINK