KTFA Members "News and Views" Friday PM 4-16-2021

KTFA:

Ryan1216:  Afternoon all. I understand everyone's frustration. Iraq has given us the same song and dance for years now. Although so much has been accomplished up to this point. Basically everything but the rate being released. It's really time for them to present the new rate so we all can move on. I'm so ready for this investment to end. Ramadan has always been slow along with much hype of a gift to the people (new rate) but hopefully this time the CBI comes through for us. I want this as much as anyone else. Any day now we'll see the budget posted in the Gazette and that'll tell us all we need to know. Let's just breathe and relax and see how this all plays out. All IMO

DeepWoodz:  Just a repeat here but..... ask yourself,

Why would they be holding up the disclosure of what’s in the budget? If it’s what they claim, you know, another year at least of the same rate then why the secrecy? The secret should match what they are yelling from the rooftops!!! 

But they haven’t disclosed it, one guy even leaked the rate is higher than neighboring countries and some others around the world! 

You know it makes sense that they WOULD keep it a secret as they are trying desperately to get rid of as many 000’s as possible! That’s only being fiscally responsible!

Samson:  Finding more than a million dollars and gold bars in the rubble of the ancient region of Nineveh

13:15 - 04/16/2021

On Friday, the Nineveh Investigation Court announced that it had seized large sums of money and valuable assets that were seized under the rubble of a house in Al-Shahwani area in Mosul for the purpose of handing them over to the Central Bank.

The Media Center of the Supreme Judicial Council stated in a statement received by the information, that “the court announced the discovery of an amount of one million six hundred thousand US dollars, gold and silver coins, bullion, and gold collectibles in the old“ Al-Shahwani ”area, while one of the excavators was removing the ruins of the old area’s role.

The statement added that "the aforementioned funds and materials were hidden in plastic barrels and nylon bags and were buried about three meters deep under the ground." It is likely that "these funds were used by ISIS gangs to finance their terrorist operations during their retreat to the right side of the Old City."

He emphasized that "the judge of the Nineveh Investigation Court decided to seize the seizures in preparation for handing them over to the Central Bank."     LINK

*************

Don961:  Conscious / Saleh: The Central Bank is working to stabilize the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar

April 15, 2021   Conscious / Baghdad / h. G

The Advisor to the Prime Minister for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, revealed today, Thursday, the efforts of the Central Bank to work to stabilize the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar. 

Saleh said in a statement followed by (the Iraqi Media News Agency / INA) that “the central bank is working to meet the desired demand of foreign currency by market forces through the window of monetary policy operations or the so-called auction for the purposes of financing foreign trade for the private sector as well as providing a safe level of Cash dollar ”. 

He pointed out, "The central bank pushed towards the fixed exchange rate with clarity, transparency and ability, with the supply tools in order to lead to stability in price levels, stability of price expectations, a higher degree of certainty in looking at the levels of price stability and reduced transaction risks for market makers and dealers in it." 

He explained that "the monetary policy of the Central Bank seeks to achieve its goals and achieve its objectives under its law in force and its quantitative and price tools aimed at stabilizing the purchasing power of the dinar."   LINK

************

Don961:  Parties and militias put Iraq on Europe's list of high risk countries in money laundering crimes

13 Hours Elapsed  Researcher Shatha Khalil *

The inclusion of Iraq by the European Union in May 2020 in the list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terrorist financing came as the warnings of the European Union ambassador in Baghdad, Martin Hutt, about the seriousness of the situation, confirmed that there are foreign powers that are using Iraq as a battlefield by the proxy to implement their agendas. Regionalism, which increases internal and regional instability, and everyone should realize that a weak and unstable Iraq can only end up in failure with disastrous repercussions in the region and beyond.

While the government of Mustafa Al-Kazemi is struggling to ensure that the salaries of employees, retirees, and beneficiaries of the social protection network continue to be paid, after the sharp decline in public treasury revenues due to the decline in oil prices under pressure with the outbreak of the Corona virus, those efforts received great disappointment after the re-inclusion of Iraq by the European Union in May 2020 is on the list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terrorist financing, along with North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, which has had catastrophic economic and financial repercussions on Iraq.

After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq became a fertile ground for the emergence of money laundering networks that benefited from the repercussions of the radical change of the political system and the accompanying political, economic and security chaos fueled by feverish competition between political factions and representatives of ethnic and sectarian components for their possession of the largest possible amount of power and influence, which facilitates Exploiting state resources and collecting money that found its way abroad through organized and politically covered money laundering operations, and this was the main reason behind the disruption of control mechanisms over the movement of money and trade with other countries in light of the state of comprehensive openness to the global economy, despite the creation of many Regulatory bodies, such as the Federal Integrity Commission (CoI), offices of inspectors general in government ministries, agencies and institutions, as well as the Federal Office of Financial Supervision (FBSA), the Economic Crimes Directorate in the Ministry of Interior and the Economic Security Department of the National Security Agency, all of theseThe bodies were unable to combat this phenomenon due to political interference that used insecurity and sectarian warfare as a cover and a pretext to evade more.

More than a decade of pressure exerted by the World Bank and global financial institutions that have repeatedly threatened to put Iraq on the blacklist if it does not enact an anti-money laundering law, which did not happen until 2015 when the House of Representatives passed Law No. 39 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing Which provides for the establishment of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Council, which grants broad powers, as well as the formation of an office within the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) called the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Office.

The first report of the "Basel" index for combating money laundering (AML) for the year 2012 placed Iraq in the sixth place among the worst countries in the field of combating money laundering. This was called by the European Union in July 2016 to place Iraq on the list of countries that do not apply international standards, while the The European Union - in a goodwill gesture, by removing Iraq from its blacklist in 2018 despite its ranking first in the Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index report for 2017 as the most dangerous country in this field, yet the Iraqi government failed to take advantage of that, and lost an opportunity To improve the country's image by taking steps towards assuaging the concerns of its international partners.

Since 2003, Iraq has been included in a horrific corruption list that includes all the joints of the country, and the sources of money laundering are divided into the following:

ý Investment budgets: were allocated by successive Iraqi governments after 2003, and their estimates range between 300 to 500 billion US dollars, for the purpose of rehabilitating infrastructure and developing public facilities. They were a major source of profit for the ruling parties by allocating corrupt contracts and tenders to shell companies or Ineligible or ineffective in return for huge commissions believed to be not less than a fifth of the value of each contract, and these contracts were often executed in a non-conforming manner, or their delivery periods were extended for additional years under the pretext of insecurity.

ý Oil smuggling:In addition to the survival of the southern oil export platforms without meters until the end of 2017 and the use of the ullage method to measure the volume of oil tanker cargoes that were costing Iraq thousands of barrels of oil per shipment per centimeter not calculated, and the oil pipelines extending between fields and ports continue, Which operates to this day without meters, including at the level of oil fields, secondary pumping stations and refineries, and to be the preferred target for stealing crude oil and its derivatives. These practices are estimated at between 100 thousand and 250 thousand barrels per day of Iraqi oil production, in addition to Other aspects of administrative corruption in calculating the quantities of oil entering and leaving the refineries, in the central and northern regions, the oil fields and oil smuggling networks that were financing ISIS after the fall of the city of Mosul in mid-2014 are still operating as usual, albeit in favor of the Shiites loyal to Iran, so the militias are in cooperation with The Kurdish parties themselves are also active in oil smuggling Producer in the Kurdistan region, this leads to the accumulation of huge funds that must be laundered in order to facilitate their integration into the global financial system.

ý Drug trafficking and smuggling and arms trade: Before 2003, Iraq was free from this poisonous trade, and the laws of the state became as far as possible, as it was one of the cleanest countries in the region for this scourge; After this date, the consumption of local drugs became one of the most profitable and fastest growing businesses due to the involvement of Shiite militias and armed clans in them, especially in Basra Governorate, which is witnessing a fierce conflict around it. The monopoly of their smuggling routes from Iran to Iraq, which often manifests itself in armed clan conflicts.

ý The problem of out-of-control border crossings, until the beginning of July 2020, the land, sea and air border crossings remained completely outside the authority of the state due to the control of outlaw forces and militias over them, not to mention the Kurdistan crossings, the area whose government has refused since 2003 to enable the federal government to supervise According to the constitution, this costs the public treasury estimated losses between 5 and 10 billion dollars annually as a result of customs evasion and organized smuggling that is practiced there.

Reflection of the decision on the Iraqi economy:
Following the European Commission’s decision, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein issued a statement expressing his surprise at the inclusion of Iraq on the list of countries with high risks in money laundering and terrorist financing. He recalled the measures taken by Iraq during the past two years, as Iraq is deemed to have met all the conditions for being removed from the blacklist. However, the state of denial revealed by the minister's statement reveals a number of indicators, the most important of which are the following:

ý Money laundering has become entrenched in the structure of the political system as one of the manifestations of financial corruption that placed Iraq at the top of the list of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Money laundering has strategic importance with regard to Iran's plans to secure financial support for its allies and proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain, by taking advantage of the uncertain Iraq situation from the perspective of the American administration, which does not seem to be in the process of a complete division with Baghdad until the elements of the Iraqi rejecting interior have matured. For Iranian hegemony over the country.

ý Because everyone has been involved in laundering operations, whether they are supportive of his government, neutral or not.

ý The absence and backwardness of the tax system and banking systems in Iraq, which made it difficult to keep pace with the movement of funds, verify their owners and settle their tax status, and the lack of clear controls for banks and exchange offices that are selected to participate in the hard currency auction, especially those that do not provide actual banking services and whose records are It is fraught with irregularities, and the failure of regulatory and judicial institutions to track down people whose Central Bank of Iraq data reveal that they have transferred billions of dollars with forged import permits.

ý The lack of legal cover to follow up on people who show manifestations of wealth that are not commensurate with the jobs and businesses they do, or are not commensurate with the prices of the services and goods they sell, especially if they are below the cost price or do not even cover transportation costs, such as fruits and vegetables imported from Iran As happened in June 2020 when Iraq imported $ 70 million worth of Iranian tomatoes, even when Iraqi farmers in the Kurdistan region threw their produce on the streets because there was no one to buy them.

More importantly, the great influence that the loyalist factions and their backers Hezbollah play within government institutions, which makes it difficult to stop the money laundering operations carried out in Iraq and linked to various illegal activities, from the smuggling of oil, drugs and weapons to kidnappings and the imposition of fees on businessmen and investors, in particular. In the Sunni provinces.

In July 2020, Iraq announced a political and diplomatic campaign with European countries to remove its name from its list of high-risk countries that witness money laundering and terrorist financing operations, as this poses a risk to the Iraqi economy and foreign investments on its soil, as the implications of this listing impose further restrictions on transfers Finance from and to Iraq, as it gives a sign of distrust by global financial institutions, including the ten banks called mothers, which control the capital in the world, and which will put Iraq in front of serious financial sanctions, which make it difficult for Iraqi and European investors to work in the country that is already suffering. From a stifling financial crisis. It will have a harmful economic and social impact on cooperation with European countries and on the credit situation and foreign investment in the country.

Everyone's interest is for everyone to contribute to the establishment of a prosperous, internally and externally stable, strong and sovereign Iraqi state as a basic condition for the stability of the region.

Economic Studies Unit, Rawabet
Center for Research and Strategic Studies    LINK

************

Samson:  Turkey Bans The Use Of Cryptocurrencies

16th April, 2021
The Turkish Central Bank has banned the use of currencies and crypto assets in the purchase of goods and services, pointing to potential "irreparable" damages and great risks in those dealings.

Turkey's central bank said on Friday that cryptocurrencies and other digital assets based on distributed ledger technology could not be used, directly or indirectly, as a payment tool. The bank added: "Payment service providers will not be able to develop business models in a way in which encrypted assets are used, directly or indirectly, in providing payment services and issuing electronic funds, and they will not be able to provide any services related to these business models."

A growing boom in the cryptocurrency market in Turkey has gained more momentum recently, as investors hope to profit from bitcoin rally and hedge against inflation. The weakness of the Turkish lira and inflationary pressures also drove the demand for the cryptocurrency.

In a statement explaining the reason behind the ban, the Turkish bank said that these assets "are not subject to any regulatory mechanisms or supervision nor to a central regulatory authority."

Last week, Turkish authorities requested user-related information from trading platforms. Annual inflation in Turkey rose to more than 16 percent in March. The new legislation takes effect on April 30. Bitcoin was down 2.59 percent to $ 61,757 by 05:57 GMT.   LINK