CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR PARTICIPATES IN A WORKSHOP SPECIALIZED IN ELECTRONIC PAYMENT
His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr. Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, participated in a specialized workshop on accelerating the transition to electronic payment, sponsored by the Prime Minister, and organized by the Osool Foundation for Economic Development and Sustainable Development.
His Excellency the Governor said during his speech at the workshop: The Central Bank of Iraq works side by side with the government program and the Prime Minister’s direction to support electronic payment, and we are proud of what we have achieved so far. In 2023, the amounts processed through the national switchboard witnessed a significant increase, reflecting the development of the infrastructure and the expansion in the use of electronic payment channels and the impact of the campaign launched by the Prime Minister to activate electronic payment operations in general, and in the government sector in particular.
His Excellency added that these upward trends continued to develop in 2024, as the amounts processed in the national switchboard systems amounted to more than (2) trillion Iraqi dinars in July alone, compared to (800) billion dinars in the same month of 2023, after which it became (1) trillion dinars in January of 2024, and government payments witnessed an additional increase, reaching (912) billion Iraqi dinars last July compared to (287) million dinars in the same month of 2023.
His Excellency pointed out that payment operations at fuel stations in Baghdad alone increased significantly, recording more than (44) billion dinars in July of this year, compared to (183) million dinars in July of 2023 and (4.5) billion dinars in December 2023, revealing a huge increase in the number of points of sale (POS) to reach more than (50) thousand points of sale this year compared to approximately (11) thousand POS points of sale at the beginning of 2023, and thousands of them are in government institutions after they were zero before the launch of the campaign in June 2023.
Expressing his hope that government institutions will adopt the establishment of units specialized in electronic payment technologies to work on following up and developing this important aspect.
Central Bank of Iraq Media Office August 10, 2024
(Didn’t my CBI contact tell us these workshops and training were coming? 😊 )
The Prime Minister’s Financial Advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, on Saturday, defined the government’s vision for the economic model, and while he indicated that it will guide investment decisions to achieve their goals, he stressed that the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani has established a roadmap for the work of the economic model in Iraq.
He added that “the current digital life helps to use computing to conduct simulation experiments to understand the potential effects of various economic policies and adopt optimal paths from them,” stressing that “Iraq has established in its government curriculum a practical foundation and a roadmap for the work of the economic model for Iraq through the development path strategy, since the beginning of the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.”
He pointed out that “the state of economic imbalance and its severe unilateralism has always required thinking about the future of the economy through an approach based on generating an alternative sector that leads the national economy,” explaining that “the development path program is an academic viewpoint, and what the German economic thinker Albert Hirschmann presented in his famous book (Economic Development Strategy) published in 1958, in combating the state of imbalance and economic unilateralism with a theory based on economic development weight, and a leader for the economy that provides a high degree of backward and forward sectoral interconnections and high interactivity that achieves sustainable growth and restores balance in the long term for the national economy.”
He pointed out that “this theory emphasizes in its model the need to invest in strategic sectors with a specific high priority instead of investing in all sectors at once,” adding that “according to this theory, other sectors will develop automatically over time, and from this standpoint the idea of the economic model for the future of Iraq in prosperity and diversity was born, which is undoubtedly based on a strategy for the overall economy based on the development path.”
Saleh noted that “this development strategy and the economic model that drives the macroeconomic variables, did not separate from it the vision of partnership between the state and the private sector and the principles of the social market within the data of the five-year national development plan and its objectives that were recently launched,” concluding his speech by saying that “the economic model or model for Iraq that we aspire to establish will provide the predictive foundations for evaluating economic policies and directing investment decisions to achieve their specific objectives in an optimal manner.”
ANALYSIS:
The Prime Minister’s Financial Advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, has outlined the government's strategic vision for Iraq's economic model. According to Salih, the economic model is essentially a mathematical framework used to understand and analyze the interactions among various economic factors. This model is crucial for guiding investment decisions and achieving the government's economic goals.
Salih explained that the government, under Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, has developed a comprehensive roadmap for Iraq’s economic model. This model focuses on evaluating the economy as a whole, including factors such as development, growth in GDP, and the stability and efficiency of the national economy.
In the context of modern technology, Salih highlighted how digital tools can facilitate simulation experiments to assess the impact of different economic policies and choose the best strategies. He emphasized that Iraq’s economic roadmap, initiated by al-Sudani's government, is based on a strategic development path.
Salih also discussed the need to address economic imbalance and dependence on single sectors by adopting a development strategy inspired by Albert Hirschmann’s theory from his 1958 book,"Economic Development Strategy." Hirschmann’s theory advocates for investing in key strategic sectors to stimulate overall economic growth and balance.
The economic model for Iraq aims to focus on strategic investments rather than attempting to develop all sectors simultaneously.
Over time, this approach is expected to lead to the natural development of other sectors.
This strategy aligns with Iraq’s broader five-year national development plan, which includes principles of public-private partnership and a social market approach.
Ultimately, Salih believes that this economic model will provide a foundation for evaluating economic policiesand directing investments in a way that optimizes their effectiveness.
CENTRAL BANK PREPARES FOR NEW TALKS WITH THE FEDERAL RESERVE : CANCELLATION OF ELECTRONIC APPLICATION FOR TRAVELERS’ DOLLARS TO PREVENT FRAUD
In response to what Al-Zaman published on its front page in previous issues, the Central Bank obligated banks to ensure that the process of purchasing dollars and depositing dinars must be done in person by the beneficiary exclusively.
Al-Zaman reviewed a document titled “Travelers’ Dollar Reservation” signed by the bank’s Deputy Governor, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, which stated: “Due to the spread of fake pages on social media bearing the names of banks and exchange companies licensed by the bank, these platforms defraud citizens by publishing a fake link linked to these platforms to complete the process of purchasing the dollar currency for travelers and misleading citizens for the purpose of uploading their information, account number or card and their identification documents, and after completing the entry of information into the platform, a message is sent via the WhatsApp application requesting the transfer of the amount to be purchased.”
ANALYSIS:
It looks like the Central Bank is taking a significant step to address fraud related to the purchase of dollars for travelers. By requiring all transactions to be completed in person, they're aiming to protect citizens from scams perpetrated through fake online platforms. Here’s a breakdown of the situation:
Cancellation of Electronic Application: The Central Bank has decided to cancel the electronic application process for purchasing travelers’ dollars. This move is in response to fraudulent schemes where scammers created fake websites mimicking legitimate banks and exchange companies.
Fraudulent Schemes: Scammers were using these fake platforms to trick people into entering sensitive personal information, including account numbers and identification documents. They would then send fraudulent messages via WhatsApp, asking victims to transfer money under the guise of completing their dollar purchase.
In-Person Transactions: To counteract this, the Central Bank now mandates that all transactions for purchasing dollars must be carried out in person at authorized banks. This measure is intended to reduce the risk of fraud by ensuring that transactions are handled directly and securely.
Document Details: The document reviewed by Al-Zaman, titled “Travelers’ Dollar Reservation,” was signed by Ammar Hamad Khalaf, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. It outlines the reasons for this new policy and aims to inform and protect citizens from the identified fraud risks.
Well,,,, Well ! We are almost halfway through August already and still no RV. Did you actually expect there to be an RV last weekend….lol.. lol. .lol.. 😊 All you idiot intel gurus with your meaningless predictions for an RV over the weekend. Yes, their crystal balls must not be working…lol..lol..lol.. 😊 I could have told you there would be no RV…. Oh wait,,,, I did! 😊 Why we haven’t yet seen the RV should not be a major concern of anyone anymore. What you should be thinking about most is the exchange of the currency and how to manage your money afterwards. The RV will come and it is on its way. But not yet as there is work to be done in Iraq to get to this point.
So, today’s news stems around two issues. One is the banking and monetary reforms and the other is the Project to Delete the Zeros.
Let’s talk about the Project to Delete the Zeros first.
Yes, the Project to Delete the zeros popped it’s head up again in the news. But why is our first question. yes, why now? This time it is a serious and a very informative set of interviews with two of the leading Iraqi economists. In the interviews we get to hear what they are thinking as resolutions to the economic issues facing the dollar and dinar. They must get this parallel black market under control. I have included the actual news media coverage video of the interviews in the Articles Section below OR you can read a full transcript of the interviews in the blog also. I set the captions to English. Here is the
link to the written transcript.
I cannot emphasize enough that if you want to know what is truly holding up the RV inside Iraq then please, please go and watch the video or read and study the transcript of the video. It is so informative and even I learned so much from it. Yes, I thought I knew it all, but I have learned differently over this past decade that we never know it all. It is what we don’t know that makes us look stupid later on because we didn’t take the time to learn. Now you have this opportunity to learn this aspect and so please take it.
There is also an article by the financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr. Mazhar Mohammed Saleh that backs up what the economists are also saying in the video. The title is “GOVERNMENT ADVISOR: INCREASED EXPORT CAPACITY BOOSTS CURRENCY VALUE“. It is the very first article in the Articles Section of today’s Newsletter. I also recommend reading it as it seems to complete the big picture of what Iraq needs to do. But remember also one of the economists in the video interview says it is possible to increase the value of the dinar even in a rentier oil economy, as just the oil alone brings value to the dinar, far more that the current rate reflects. He says, it is a matter of how you would peg the dinar and he explains the rest in the video. Go watch it! it is exactly what the hell I have been saying all along…. 😊
Remember also that, even if Iraq had all it’s proverbial “ducks in row”, the RV would still be stalled due to the US pressures in the Biden/Obama administration not to want this measure of money transferred to the general populous of the US, when they are intentionally trying desperately to break the economy and bring down the US to reset it to a globalist plan. Remember the US politicians already exchanged in 2012 -2013 and so they don’t give a damn if we other investors have to wait until the “cows come home”. This is how much the Obama administration cares about the economy of the US and it’s people. Yes, just all talk and no action. Just a bunch of greedy bastards using their political influence and know-how to rig the system. This government must be changed out. This is real and we have proof this is their strategy. The prophets tell us it is not going to work and so we move on. We continue….
I need to point out that most, but not all, what is said in the video today has already been explained many times and is in my Project to Delete the Zeros blog section. I would pay particular attention to the SOLUTIONS that the economists now give to rectify the issues with the currency auctions and the dollar. There are options and something is going to move this Project ahead. As always I look forward to my Wednesday call to Iraq.
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For everyone I need to make a few points now that are very important to remember. These points are key to getting the “Project” started in the first place and so we should emphasize them, remember them and then watch in the news for progress in this direction. This is ongoing progress. Here are the titles of the articles. You can go read them in the Articles Section. But the titles along tell the story. I included a brief summary to save you time:
“WE FEAR THE “DESTRUCTION OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS” BY REVEALING THE NAMES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE THEFT OF THE CENTURY” :
MP for the Al-Sadiqoun parliamentary bloc, Ali Turki Al-Jamali, said Friday, August 2, 2024, that there is fear of “ruining” the political process by revealing the names of those involved in the theft of tax deposits known as the “theft of the century.”
“CENTRAL BANK PREPARES FOR NEW TALKS WITH THE FEDERAL RESERVE : CANCELLATION OF ELECTRONIC APPLICATION FOR TRAVELERS’ DOLLARS TO PREVENT FRAUD” :
The Central Bank obligated banks to ensure that the process of purchasing dollars and depositing dinars must be done in person by the beneficiary exclusively at the airports.
“CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR PARTICIPATES IN A WORKSHOP SPECIALIZED IN ELECTRONIC PAYMENT
“
His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr. Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, participated in a specialized workshop on accelerating the transition to electronic payment, sponsored by the Prime Minister, and organized by the Osool Foundation for Economic Development and Sustainable Development. we are proud of what we have achieved so far. In 2023, the amounts processed through the national switchboard witnessed a significant increase, reflecting the development of the infrastructure and the expansion in the use of electronic payment channels and the impact of the campaign launched by the Prime Minister to activate electronic payment operations in general, and in the government sector in particular.
“MONEY LAUNDERING: 500 ELECTRONIC PAYMENT CARDS USED TO TRANSFER MONEY OUTSIDE IRAQ WERE SEIZED AND THEIR HOLDERS WERE ARRESTED IN BAGHDAD” :
The Intelligence Agency announced the seizure of 500 electronic payment cards used to transfer money outside Iraq and the arrest of their holders in Baghdad. The agency stated in a statement received by (Today News), that “its detachments specialized in combating organized crime in Baghdad/Karkh monitored information indicating the existence of an illegal network that transfers money outside Iraq through electronic payment cards.”
“NEARLY 200 BILLION DINARS IN “FINES” FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRAQ ON BANKS AND EXCHANGE COMPANIES” :
The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Tuesday that fines imposed on banks and non-banking institutions (exchange companies) amounted to more than 181 billion Iraqi dinars during the past six months.
________________________________________
What else is in the news….
There is also a new economic strategy that is underway, and it stems from the economist academia in Iraq. We can clearly see from the interviews from these two economists today, about the Project to Delete the Zeros, that this project is tied to the stability of the economy and taking this new route to solve the issues involved. You can go and read the article titled “PRIME MINISTER’S ADVISOR: THE GOVERNMENT HAS ESTABLISHED A ROADMAP FOR THE ECONOMIC MODEL IN IRAQ”
To be fair, I also wanted to list out what these economists are calling obstacles, but are they really obstacles? We should know better by now to decide for ourselves and if these economists are just exaggerating or not and have talking points that do not really apply in Iraq’s financial condition today, like when they say printing the newer lower denominations is expensive. We know better…. don’t we? We know a monetary mass of the newer lower denominations have already been printed. The CBI needs to shrink the monetary mass to coincide with the plan. Also with a $213 billion CBI reserves I hardly think that a mere couple million in printing fees would make much of a difference in the overall gain from the Project.
What else is in the news?
There is an article titled “EXPORTING ECONOMIC CRISES“. I thought this VERY interesting since it exposed yet more corruption with this concept of one global government. You see they almost have it already only they keep it hidden under a pretense of National Sovereignty. But how can you have sovereignty when some outside entity is calling most of the shots about your economy and money supply/valuations. These entities are not just advisor agencies. They run the finacial systems globally. I quote from the article – “Anyone who follows global economic trends will notice, from time to time, a financial crisis occurring here and there.” Why?
“These crises lead to transitional economic crises that are clearly visible in some countries and hidden in others, and the effects differ here and there depending on the fragility of the economy of the countries in which the crisis appears in terms of clarity and the strength of the economy of other countries in which its effects are hidden. Perhaps money is the root of the problem, as its interactions crystallize to be reflected in the economy”.
In the article is also states and I quote – “I only refer for the purposes of analysis and clarification to the mechanism of financial crises in major capitalist centers and then their transition to global economic crises, They are a product of globalization, which has opened borders wide open through international agreements binding on countries. The arms of globalization, especially the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the United States Agency for International Development, have helped deepen them by imposing their strict, binding conditions, whether in the field of financing, granting loans, or the aid that countries need, and the necessity of applying them to the policies of those countries in a way that achieves a high degree of economic liberalism. Here, the picture becomes clear regarding the export of crises that dominate the financial markets, as money is the basis.
It is natural that monetary chaos causes fluctuations in exchange rates and differences between the official price and the parallel price, which is a prominent phenomenon in emerging and weak economies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the Turkish, Iranian, Egyptian, Iraqi economies and many others, along with other reasons, of course, which are the reason for the occurrence of financial crises.
Crises are a phenomenon exported from abroad. Do you see what this global governance can do and how destructive it can be. It is too powerful and can easily manipulate countries using the power of money. Why so much power in the hands of so few agencies. Yes, these agencies in themselves are the problem. They must be rooted down to mere advisory agencies and any real power diminished. The power must be given back to sovereign nations and their sovereignty and freedoms respected.
What can we investors do to help in the RV situation?
We must now buckle down and pray and pray like never before for the success of Al-Sudani and his agreements with Washington are implemented. You do want the RV don’t you? Pray for Iraq and also the U.S. in that there are strong enough representatives in the US Congress and the Senate who will stand up and continue to fight to uphold the US Constitution and keep fighting this Washington corruption. Pray that that God’s Hand will intervene and save our great country. Remember you can say the Rosary daily or use the prayers and links I provided from the Auxilium Christianorum for your prayers. Of course there is also your own form of prayer too. Folks your prayers so far ARE WORKING and God has heard our cries. Just look at all the progress made just since December 2022 when Iraq announced they were finally entirely out of Chapter VII. And now in 2024 the spigot is wide open the final issues preventing the reinstatement are being dealt with one by one. Can you see it too. I am trying my best to help you see it. We don’t’ need this foolishness of this speculative crap or everyday / any day garbage intel confusing us. You think this is all just coincidental? God’s Hand is at work here. He has given Iraq his anointed leader Al-Sundani to help in his work. Even I have to sit back in amazement of what he has accomplished so far. Pray for him and all his success. Let see what August brings us.
The reduction that we can resort to by deleting zeros, yes, based on data and reality.
The Iraqi economy, Dr. Safwan, and as you mentioned, the Iraqi economy is based on sales of Oil, in light of this data, will Iraq succeed if it wants to delete some zeros today from its local currency?
You mentioned that there are proactive steps for any country that wants to delete its zeros should be the first of them today, economic diversification, revenues from various sectors today in light of this data in the Iraqi economy, even if we remain on the rentier economy, will it succeed?
This idea, if it is not implemented, or will it actually fail, meaning that the Central Bank is supposed to have a strategy in determining the value fair for the Iraqi dinar, and where do we go with this value? Are we, for example, with integration with Turkey with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with the Gulf dinar In terms of the environment surrounding Iraq?
I think that if there is a thought to have a qualified trade volume because we link the Iraqi currency to stable economies, such as the US dollar as the yen the Japanese as the sterling pound or even the Chinese yuan through the Gulf currency, the currency.
(Mnt Goat – he tells us they would need a basket of currencies of stable developed countries to link the dinar to. )
The unified Gulf needs a harmonious economic infrastructure
integrated that produces a kind of monetary integration means that we do not think about adding value, but rather link this value to the economies of a system, of course this subject requires developing the tools of economic integration between these countries so that the value of the currency corresponds to the value of the production of these countries and also imports and thus we create a state of additional confidence in the Iraqi dinar, the Iraqi dinar in the fifties was linked to the sterling pound. The original point of the matter is to return to the pound sterling and if there is another vision from the Central Bank to link the Iraqi currency for example with the Gulf countries, we must start now to determine economic paths for integration so that we have a specific time. I believe that the Gulf countries have postponed this matter more than times to have an Arab currency unified or a unified Gulf currency, we defend the economies of these countries and support confidence.
(Mnt Goat: This unified concept has been kicking around for a while but will not happen until we are out of this investment. We can see just by the Iranian attitude this is not going to happen any time soon.)
By keeping this currency, I want to thank you very much, Dr. Safwan Qusay, and you are the academic and economic expert for all these clarifications.
You were with us from Baghdad in our second file, dear viewers, the problem of fluctuating exchange rates and the collapse of the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar, the most prominent challenges facing the Iraqi economy.
The reasons are different and the result is one, which is the purchasing power of low-income people and the stagnation of the markets
And negative effects, of course, on the Iraqi economy. After relative stability during the week and the weeks past, the rise in the exchange rate has returned to the forefront again, and the Central Bank confirmed that this rise is temporary because Iraq has a reserve of hard currency that enables it to achieve balance. We will discuss more about this topic later.
The report has become the stability of the dollar exchange rate against the dinar, the greatest wish of Iraqis for about three years, due to the consequences and successive crises caused by the large price jumps that cast their shadows on the markets in general and low-income people in particular, despite the measures of the Central Bank to preserve the value of the Iraqi dinar and prevent the monopoly of hard currency from before Traders and speculators, but the crisis did not end, as the cause and instability did not subside.
Its pace for a short period until it rises again, causing confusion for citizens and paralysis and stagnation in the markets between the electronic window and travelers obtaining dollars exclusively from airports.
And forcing traders to deal in Iraqi dinars in their local transactions, the gap between the official price set by the Central Bank and the parallel market price is still large in light of the continued violations leading to the leakage of the currency to countries sanctioned by the Governor of the Central Bank, and during his hosting by the Parliamentary Finance Committee, he indicated that what Iraq has of reserves of hard currency is sufficient to achieve market balance, but he attributed the widening gap between the official price and the parallel to illegal trade and its effects by withdrawing large amounts of currency in illegal ways.
While a meeting with the American side was revealed in New York at the end of the month current to discuss the file of the sanctioned banks and the aspects related to the external transfer process.
Many factors control exchange rates, such as the increased demand for the dollar to finance imports. And the economic and political crises that burden citizens and require taking measures and solutions that ensure the stability of exchange rates in the long term.
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For more, our viewers, on this topic, Dr. Ahmed Hal, Professor of Economics, joins us at Al-Mustansiriya University, Dr. Welcome to the Economics in a Week program on the screen change, if Dr.
We are talking about hosting the governor the Central Bank in the Iraqi Council of Representatives. In your opinion, did the Central Bank of Iraq fail today in managing the issue of the dollar exchange rate and also the sanctions on some banks Iraqi?
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Greetings to you, my dear brother, and to the viewers of Al-Taghyeer Channel
Your Excellency, welcome. The beginning of the exchange rate crisis is a succession and not a spur of the moment, but
It worsened after 2023 due to the implementation of the
US Federal Reserve platform and forcing the Central Bank to use this platform for transfers Foreign Affairs. Many economic circles and many officials Governmental, whether in the Ministry of Finance or the Central Bank or financial institutions and economic specialists in the exchange rate issue believe that the platform will lead to pressure on foreign transfers, but unfortunately during the year 2023 and 2024 after the growth large with electronic payment cards and forcing society to use the payment card electronic and forcing merchants and companies to use electronic payment in dinars Iraqi and internal transactions also in Iraqi dinars and it did not work with these methods but rather exacerbated the exchange rate crisis because many transfers through these cards and electronic wallets as well as transfers launched by banks including called direct transfer that occurs between the clearing house between internal banks some banks internal and external banks did not work for example the closest example to the issue of inflation sales at the central bank and this is something the prime minister himself mentioned that it means in the past before the position is available the prime minister said that more than approximately 30% is correct that it means the transfer from these 100% ratio is that 30% of the external transfer is correct and the rest is smuggling, meaning it is the same and what he mentioned, but in fact he and many officials in the economic field did not understand the real problem of the exchange rate.
(Mnt Goat – so what is the real problem with the exchange rate according to this economist?)
The real problem of the exchange rate has multiple dimensions, meaning today I do not want to exonerate the Central Bank and say that it is not the responsibility on its shoulders nor Law No. 56 of 2004. The main goal of the Central Bank is to maintain monetary stability. This is the first goal of the Central Bank, and after that the intermediate goals and the final ones fall, but I remind you that there are multiple dimensions to the issue of the exchange rate and not one dimension represented by monetary policy, but rather or let me remind you so that we do not leave this point this week.
The interest Sunday the Central Bank sold $281 billion a thousand 281 million yes a dollar a million dollars and the bank or two banks that own 95% of the platform through external transfers are only two banks 95% what are these two banks.
The reasons what is the work of the rest of the banks what is their work what is their work is it that they work discounting transfers. The treasury and that means buying transfers from the Ministry of Finance as well.
Loans are an initiative of the Central Bank and so on and this is a fact that does not develop the banking system and is reflected on the real sector today, Monday, the Central Bank sold $279 million also one bank is the governor.
Dominating this issue Tuesday $283 million and this is the largest sales for the bank. The Central Bank during this period, meaning during the current government, meaning it is assumed that the Prime Minister gave a clear plan and vision in the curriculum. The government, but it really did not control and was shocked by some things on Tuesday 283 million and on Wednesday 274 and also on Thursday 69 total sales during the past week. One billion and 386 or 1,386,000,000 for the week. This means this amount is real if compared with the invoices that came out of the platform and the goods corresponding to these invoices. We will find a huge difference between what entered Iraq of goods and services.
(Mnt Goat, meaning goods and services in the physical do not add up to the money spent on them. So where did the other money go?)
It could be in kind and it could not be possible to be material and immaterial goods and services that make up this amount. We mean by it games, but there must be a percentage and proportion, meaning always when they were talking about this point, Doctor, is the role of the Customs Department in this matter, the Tax Department is also in this?
The subject is if there is any import license given to any merchant or any bank imports a certain commodity from outside Iraq and you know that Iraq is based on imports by more than 90%, so here perhaps lies the biggest problem, so it must come with invoices or official papers proving the value of these goods with what was taken from dollars, our dear professor, let me explain to you, excuse me, that these sales 95% are not the real target, which is the merchant, meaning there are things that fall within the platform that we do not know about the citizen, the Prime Minister himself does not know about them, he may know about them himself, the Prime Minister Council of Ministers because there are technical things related to banking aspects and these have orders and specialized technical issues minutes so that it is easy to transfer large quantities of dollars and store these quantities in a group of countries that control this dollar and then this person or this bank or
this company sells this dollar through a black market clearing. Notice, the target is the real one who sells the dollar, not benefiting from this dollar, but benefiting from it from the black market. Yes, in this case, in this case, Doctor, when these parties obtain these large amounts in dollars and transfer them outside Iraq by any means, meaning to transfer legal or even illegal, unless it is disclosed to the Iraqi government or to the US Federal Reserve to know that this party that transferred the dollar, then these banks were subject to sanctions, no, no, they are them, they transfer legally.
I will ask you how, how is it stored invoices are a small group of traders, we call them the unorganized trade, trade active inside this country needs dollars to finance imports, which means real trade?
As for these traders, there are companies registered with the Ministry of Commerce that collect shipping bills large, meaning that if this trader applies to a bank or a bank that is not financing his internal trade, no he gives dollars for the purpose of financing his internal trade, and this means that these traders constitute 70% of domestic trade, note that 70% of domestic trade constitutes these people put pressure on the domestic market. Look, we are coming to convert 95 to 97% of this externally.
(Mnt Goat – here is the exposure of how they find this illegal money transfer. Read on,,)
Externally, yes, and this same amount did not match with customs due to the lack of a tag between the bank.
(Mnt Goat – he then talks about solutions to the problem. Read on,,,)
The Central Bank and Customs are organizations. We said a long time ago that the problem is not related only to the Central Bank. There must be financing and exemption for trade Interior for business owners, small traders for a period of five years from the tax first, I until the exchange rate stabilizes from the tax first, and until we reach the real target and what the bank needs only is.
The one who controls this issue, we exempt from taxes for a period of five years and we exempt from fees for a period of five years and we issue him a merchant card that enables him to easily import what he needs through his card electronic payment via the Internet and we impose on this merchant a shipping policy from customs that matches what is transferred to him of the dollar and this merchant that I am talking about represents a large segment of small traders
And it represents great pressure on the exchange rate in this way, we can reduce the exchange rate level and it could reach the forties, meaning it could reach 40, and this is an acceptable condition as long as Banks the current one or two banks as well as a group of companies
The I and B companies only control and monopolize the foreign exchange and give great privileges for the foreign exchange. The exchange rate will rise later. In addition, whenever government spending increases, the size of the budget increases, and oil prices rise, this will lead to a very large increase in the exchange rate because we said at the beginning of the episode that the problem is the exchange rate.
It is only related to the Central Bank. It is related to the industrial sector, which is destroyed for us. Almost 70% of Iraqi factories are destroyed. This pressure on government spending goes to imports, and whoever goes to imports, we will put pressure on the domestic market that requested the dollar so that we can cover trade.
The domestic market is only large traders and large companies with large capitals. They are first they themselves also evade taxes because of the deception between them and the tax officials, meaning there is a very large percentage of tax evasion and also taking out dollars or sending dollars to abroad in exchange for goods and services that are not real, meaning there are goods and services that are not worth what came out of the dollar and therefore there are figures controlling the issue of the currency or the platform, is this a fault of the government,
Doctor, is this the fault of the government, meaning when you said a little while ago that there is a bank or a party or two parties that we call it that control most of the sales of the currency auction in the bank today , the central bank?
Is this the fault of the government or the fault of the central bank or is the central bank selling the countries of the dollar to which party today buying it from the legal aspect, the central bank tells you that I am what I receive a request from the dollar is food until I reduce the gap between the official price and the price the parallel, but this has become a national security problem and a social problem, I mean, and an economic problem?
And a political problem that greatly affects the country. Who are we? Answer: The Central Bank is the only one who finances and feeds the existing demand is one of the mistakes. Really, how can we finance these imports, most of which are non-domestic imports with a policy that imposes a tax on them that is less than the tax imposed on the same goods from the ports border from the south or from the air border ports.
Okay, so in addition to that, excuse me, regarding your question, in addition to the government, because this is considered one of economic crimes. I mean, who is now prosecuting the government for its mistakes? I just want to know I mean, who is prosecuting me because this 20% difference is a very big difference that is coming to bear on the citizen means that among the goods, food goods are also high in price.
If you notice the reports of the Ministry Planning, there are goods that constitute the food basket, the big thing for the Iraqi citizen, their prices are also high, real estate prices are also very high inflation has increased, yes, inflation in general, so the problem does not lie in a shortage today, Doctor.
The dollar in the Iraqi market, the Central Bank pumps dollars into the central market, but there are some procedures taken by the weak-willed or some merchants or some whales, call them what you want exploit the dollar and the price difference and go in the end to the black market if we wanted today as a government.
I mean, in fact, we said at the beginning that the methods are to reduce and raise the exchange rate and impose on the citizen to deal in the dinar and impose on the citizen to take the card Electronic.
I mean, these are issues, unfortunately, media issues that we can use as media to cover up a very difficult problem, I mean, these are the tools that can be saved from using the dollar based on the use of the dollar in the country, the problem is bigger than this can solve.
These tools are sterile tools and have become a thing of the past, the government cannot solve the issue of the exchange rate. The exchange rate is this simple, if it wants two solutions, there are on the short-term and on the long-term.
First, the banks and the A&B companies are happy, of course, on these profits that I mean, I don’t see a specific bank increasing its profits or its assets, the assets increasing from 500 billion to 5 trillion in five or six years, what is this business?
Shamad, depending on the auction of Uncle Doctor Of course yes, the dollar is the dollar and bonds the Treasury, the interest on Treasury bonds and the Central Bank initiative loans, these are the three things that the banks are supposed to do, and they are supposed to do a very large development work, finance projects.
The industrial and agricultural projects are supposed to be exclusively financed by these banks, by working in the real sector.
What made me leave 81 banks operating in the country, and these 81 banks benefit either from the auction currency or through the Central Bank’s population initiative and through auctions and Treasury transfers.
The American, even if it stopped and it has been working for very long years, meaning huge capital the banks’ money is one of the reasons for it, the government decisions that support these banks support them to a large extent, but the banks did not produce a real economy, and this is the goal of the bank and development in Iraq.
(Solutions: )
Back to the Ma’rouf issue, yes yes I said two solutions, two solutions:
1.One on the short-term level, limit the 70% of foreign trade with trade facilities.
The internal, excuse me, which concerns the owners or small traders, these coordinate with the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce. As I said, tax exemption, a merchant card, an import card, and so on details yes because in any case, first they bring in imports through tax evasion, they are tax evaders, and second they come to pressure the market, they buy dollars, so they keep buying dollars.
So that they can finance their foreign trade, this is on the short-term level, I give them credit facilities
Unlimited and I demand them with a large-scale policy, meaning I make myself a branch of the bank branches, for example, TBI, a recognized bank with it and it has a large correspondence It’s easier for these traders and then the other second solution which is in the short term.
2.Traders and then the other second solution which is in the short term
I will create a sub-department within the General Authority of Customs and within the land border crossings and the air and all the crossings and the northern ones in particular because there are companies that are coming to register in the north and have not paid taxes to and are practicing their work in Baghdad and have not paid the tax to Baghdad, they pay it to the north.
Consequently, the north (the Kurdistan region) and the region will not give the taxpayer as stipulated by the law (the money of the taxes into the general budget fund) the budget, but the government will continue to finance the public expenditures in the region, this is on the short-term level on the long-term level, impose on these banks that if you want, banks, whether private, investment, industrial or agricultural, I will give you credit facilities.
Very large if you finance me, for example, a factory for consumer goods that is coming It consumes it and I made it self-sufficient in the industrial sector with these goods, meaning that I direct every bank to a specific industry.
What will this do? This will limit imports because there is a commodity for a commodity foreign and with credit facilities, so it will reduce the level of total demand and thus the demand for imports and then the demand for the dollar and then the demand for reserves at the Central Bank, which is the prestige of the Iraqi economy, the truth is that international reserves if they decrease.
Today the Prime Minister may be very lucky, but his results are really negative and we are here to monitor the data and we are here to monitor the indicators and give him that we tell him these indicators are negative despite the large economic and political presence that it enjoys, it was not able, unfortunately to achieve very big results, for example, on the exchange rate level and the financial level Economics.
Excuse me, my time is up, Dr. Ahmed Hall, you are a professor of economics at Al-Mustansiriya University. I want to thank you very much for your presence and for these clarifications and information. Thanks also to you, our dear viewers, for following the episode another next week,
God bless you
(Mnt Goat – after reading Dr. Ahmed Hall interview comments you can now tie this to the new strategy of the economic model. You can read more about this new model they are doing in the article titled: “ PRIME MINISTER’S ADVISOR: THE GOVERNMENT HAS ESTABLISHED A ROADMAP FOR THE ECONOMIC MODEL IN IRAQ”. The economic model is a mathematical model used to represent the economy and analyze the behavior of various economic factors, as these models are used to understand how economic elements interact,” You can see how this new model is coming direct from the economists).
