Al-Sudani's Advisor Announces US Treasury Support Mechanisms For Iraq, 12 NOV

 Al-Sudani's Advisor Announces US Treasury Support Mechanisms For Iraq

Posted on2024-11-11 by sotaliraq

The Prime Minister's Advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced the mechanisms of the US Treasury's support for Iraq since 2003, while pointing to the continuation of consultations with the US Treasury regarding combating money laundering.

Saleh said in a statement to the official media: “The cooperation and coordination between Iraq and the US Treasury extends back to the first years since the change of the former regime,” indicating that “the Treasury played an important supporting role in supporting the Paris Club agreement in 2004 concerned with writing off Iraq’s debts called pre-1990 debts, and the presence of Treasury representatives in the Paris Club agreement secretariat helped ensure the writing off of 80% or more of the former regime’s debts.”

“The US Treasury succeeded in supporting infrastructure financing in Iraq through the conference held in the Spanish capital, Madrid, on October 23-24, 2003.

Its primary goal was to mobilize financial support for the reconstruction of Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003. Seventy countries and international organizations participated in the conference,”

he added, explaining that “the conference was able to collect pledges amounting to about $33 billion, but a large part of these amounts was in the form of loans or technical support, and not all of it was direct financial aid.”

He explained that “the US Treasury contributed to establishing the Iraqi payments system in 2006 through a direct technical agreement with the Central Bank of Iraq to establish a wholesale payments system between the Central Bank on the one hand and the banks and the government in transferring funds and settling them electronically on the other hand, in addition to entering the era of settling bank checks electronically as well, which are matters in financial technology that are being introduced for the first time in our country,”

noting that “from the history of the important assistance provided by the Treasury, it has played an important role in replacing the local, fast-forgery edition of the dinar that was issued during the nineties siege in the largest campaign that Iraq witnessed between late 2003 and early 2004 with the international edition of the dinar, according to the highest international technical specifications.”

He stressed that “since the signing of the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2008 until today, there have been continuous consultations between representatives of the financial and monetary authorities in our country and the treasury to cooperate in combating money laundering and the proceeds of crime and terrorism in a manner that achieves governance and compliance for our financial and banking system as well as its optimal integration into the global financial and economic climate.”  LINK

"THE RV HAS STARTED" BY WOLVERINE, 12 NOV

 WOLVERINE
Sun. 10 Nov. 2024 Wolverine

 “The RV has started. Thank you God. Everyone’s saying that by Tues.12 Nov. we should have a shotgun start.

 Everything is going at once. The bankers had a meeting and said that Zurich has already started. The codes were locked in a couple of days ago.

 Remember Tues. 12 Nov. is when we expect things to roll.” …Hi guys. I’m praying that this is our week as according to all my sources this is our week.

 This has been so stressful for me as I can imagined for all of you as well. Tomorrow there is going to be meetings for quite a lot of private contracts as they expect to receive the GO sign by tomorrow  Mon. 11 Nov.

 The Precatorias are also ready to go this week just as many other platforms. I’ve been told that not to expect things to happen straight away for everyone as it is a process as it might take up to 10 days for the process to finish. As for the 4B group we should also receive the GO sign as well.

 Notifications should hit your email by tomorrow Mon. 11 Nov. Please keep an eye on your emails. Please God let it happen. Just remember first of all I’m only a messenger as I have no control of this as the same goes to the owners of the platforms as they have no control of it . 

It’s a military operation. I like to inform you that if anyone is creating fraud and taking advantage of people that the Alliance is watching all of this and there will be consequences.

 I like to say that I will never surrender as I cannot abandoned you as too many of our patriots are suffering. I’m sure by the grace of God that this is our week. Also pray for our patriots in Spain as there are hundreds of people missing in Valencia due to the flooding as so many people have lost their homes and love ones. God bless Wolverine”

"there is a massive push in Iraq to go before Dec. 10th." BY MARKZ@DINAR...

Central Bank of Iraq announces progress in dollar control procedures, 12 NOV

   Central Bank of Iraq announces progress in dollar control procedures

The Central Bank of Iraq announced progress in monitoring foreign transfers and cash dollar sales and providing protection for the banking and financial sector from the risks of money laundering, following the ongoing discussions of the Central Bank of Iraq with the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department.

The bank's governor, Ali Al-Alaq, said in statements to Al-Hurra website that "the ongoing quarterly meetings with the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department within the framework of organizing operations and coordination between the two sides, which have close relations, led to an agreement on procedures and formulas that are consistent with best practices and international standards, the latest of which was the plan related to organizing foreign transfer operations by rebuilding them according to new standards and methods."

Al-Alaq revealed that Iraq has achieved 95% progress in terms of monitoring procedures for foreign transfers and cash dollar sales, and providing protection for the banking and financial sector from the risks of money laundering operations.

In July 2023, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 14 banks, and months before that, similar sanctions were imposed on 4 other Iraqi banks after they were accused of money laundering.

The Iraqi government, through the Central Bank of Iraq, has been continuing its negotiations for about two years with the US Treasury Department to lift sanctions on these banks, all of which are private banks. 

Jamal Kocher, a member of the Iraqi Parliamentary Finance Committee, confirms that the majority of the sanctioned banks are private banks that represent fronts for political parties with which the United States has stopped dealing.

Koger explained to Alhurra that “the US Treasury imposed sanctions on these Iraqi banks for their involvement in practices that fall under money laundering, money smuggling, and suspicious transactions. In return, the owners of these banks are pressuring the government to lift the sanctions on them, but I do not think that the United States will yield to these pressures. On the contrary, it is adamant about its position, and I do not think that without changing the behavior of these banks, America will abandon these sanctions and their imposition.”

Koger points out that the American pressures on the Central Bank of Iraq will not be eased unless there are changes in the behavior of these banks, calling on these banks to fully implement the conditions required by the US Federal Reserve in terms of transparency, clarity, and commitment to US sanctions on some countries. He said, “Any bank that deviates from these obligations will be subject to US sanctions, and measures will be taken against it.”

The number of banks in Iraq is about 79 banks, 8 of which are government banks, and one digital bank, while the banking sector suffers from a weakness in providing modern and advanced banking services.

For about two years, the Iraqi government has been seeking to digitize financial services, correct and rectify financial policy, enhance financial inclusion, keep pace with technological development, and restructure the banking sector in the country, which has not yet shaken off the dust of the political, economic, and security crises that have plagued it for decades.  link

EXCERPTS FROM MARKZ, 12 NOV

 EXCERPTS FROM MARKZ

Member: What are we waiting on ?

MZ: I think we are just waiting for an announcement …I think they are on a fast track to completion…..Maybe that why we get silence and a brick wall from contacts. 

Member: Is there any chance we go this week or do we have to wait until Dec 10th

Member: It’s possible the PTB are waiting until Jan 1 or after the inauguration Jan 20th. 

MZ: I hate to think we will be waiting that long. I am not hearing that most of my contacts. 

MELANIA HINDS: Veterans Day Intel: Unique Updates You Can't Miss

Parliamentary Finance: 2025 Budget Aims to Achieve More Economic Stability, 12 NOV

 Parliamentary Finance: 2025 Budget Aims to Achieve More Economic Stability

The Finance Committee revealed that the government has begun preparing the budget schedules for next year 2025, while indicating that the desired goals are to achieve development and increase non-oil revenues, in addition to achieving more economic stability for the country.

The head of the committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, said in an interview with “Al-Sabah” followed by “Al-Eqtisad News”, that “the government has begun preparing the infrastructure for the 2025 budget and has determined the requirements for reviewing this budget, as we look forward to these tables arriving next year or perhaps some of the items that the government needs to complete the requirements for their implementation, indicating that the goals set and desired from this budget are to achieve development, increase non-oil revenues, and search for means for clear economic stability.”

Al-Atwani added, "The operating budget has begun to extend over the investment budget, and this burdens the budget and makes it limited in its set objectives. Therefore, from now on, we must search for additional resources and achieve non-oil revenues that can provide stability to the economy," indicating that this matter led to "our move towards rationalizing consumption because it is an important matter."

Regarding the digital transformation process, the Chairman of the Finance Committee believes that this matter is “an essential structure for achieving a significant and noticeable increase in non-oil revenues, and all of this will be included and solutions sought for it in the 2025 budget.”

The head of the Finance Committee also explained that "the budget deficit may be the same as in 2024 because the government has been paying off its foreign loans, and in return, investment projects have been achieved and entered service, and there are other projects being implemented that have had a noticeable impact on the budget and its current expenditures."

The head of the committee continued, saying: “The government has started financing projects in the governorates with a second batch that reached 400 billion dinars for all governorates, and the same is true for financing some ministries to achieve their goals,” noting that “the financing batch during the coming months will be large and in line with what the ministries and governorates need, given that there are projects that these ministries and governorates have started and the governorates and ministries will be required to pay their financial requirements, especially towards private sector companies.”  link