"Tidbits From TNT" Wednesday 11-1-2023

Nov 1

TNT:

CandyKisses: Iraqi intelligence raids a company that smuggles dollars out of the country and arrests its members

Iraqi intelligence raids a company that smuggles dollars out of the country and arrests its membersShafaq News / The Iraqi intelligence agency specialized in combating terrorism announced on Tuesday the arrest of six people working inside a company and in possession of sums of money amounting to 334270000 million Iraqi dinars and 157215 thousand US dollars on charges of smuggling currency out of the country contrary to the instructions of the Central Bank.

She said in a statement, received by the Shafaq News Agency, that the intelligence agency's detachments continue their pre-emptive operations against dollar speculators who practice transferring money contrary to the instructions of the Central Bank, which would harm the national economy, explaining that based on accurate intelligence information received by the detachments of the intelligence agency specialized in combating terrorism in Baghdad Karkh, which included a university services company in Baghdad province next to Karkh within the Mansour area that receives and smuggles the dollar currency outside and inside Iraq in a way Contrary to the instructions of the Central Bank, which would harm the national economy.

The statement explained that an intelligence and technical team was immediately formed to investigate and collect information and after completing all judicial procedures, the detachments were able to raid the building used by the aforementioned company, where money amounting to (334270000) million Iraqi dinars and (157215) thousand dollars were seized, as well as the arrest of 6 people working inside the mentioned company and the closure of the company.

When interrogating the defendants, they openly confessed that they had converted national and foreign currency inside and outside Iraq contrary to the instructions of the Central Bank, taking advantage of a fictitious address bearing the name of a university services company, harming the national economy, according to the statement, which indicated that the defendants' statements were recorded and referred to the competent authority to combat organized crime in preparation for their appearance before the judiciary.

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

Tishwash: Iran reveals a decline in its exports to Iraq and attributes the reasons to the exchange rate

An Iranian official revealed the decrease and decline of his country's various exports to Iraq for several reasons, including the difference in the dollar exchange rate.

The former Secretary of the Iranian-Iraqi Chamber of Commerce said in a press statement, “One dollar for an Iranian merchant is equivalent to 1,600 Iraqi dinars, while this number for businessmen from other countries is 1,300 dinars, which is equivalent to the official price of Iraq,” stressing that “this difference in price Up to 15% is acceptable for Iranian businessmen, but exceeding that will make things more difficult.”

Hamid Hosseini pointed out, “The reason for preventing the import of agricultural products from Iran to Iraq is to increase the production of these products in Iraq,” noting that “Iraq has limited the import of some agricultural products from Iran with the aim of supporting local production of agricultural products.” He added, "The regions of southern Iraq, Basra, and Dhi Qar all include agricultural lands that have succeeded in recent years in raising fish and growing agricultural products due to government support in providing water. These farmers have objected to import operations, and for this reason the central government decided to ban imports, and the Kurdistan Regional Government Iraq is regulating imports by raising and lowering customs duties.”

Hosseini stressed that "the import ban is limited only to the seasons in which Iraqi domestic production increases," noting that "as soon as the import of Iranian products into Iraq becomes limited, the internal stock will decrease, and after a short period, demand will rise again."

He added, "In any case, exporting water-intensive agricultural products is not suitable for Iran."

Regarding whether the spread of pests and non-standard agricultural products is a factor in banning these import operations, Hosseini explained: These defects apply only to apple trees, and not to other agricultural products.

A member of the Chamber of Commerce spoke about the reasons for imposing duties on Iranian rebar imports to Iraq: Iraq produces about 3.5 million tons of rebar annually, but Iraqi rebar cannot compete with a similar Iranian product, so they imposed a customs tariff on its imports ranging from 70 to 80 dollars. .

Hosseini considered that the main problem in exporting Iranian products to Iraq is the currency exchange rate for Iranian merchants in this country.

He explained that "the exchange rate in Iraq for Iranian businessmen is 20% higher than for businessmen in other countries." link

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

Tishwash: Hoarded money and stimulating depositors

Official estimates indicate that 85 percent of the issued monetary mass, amounting to more than 100 trillion dinars, is outside the banking system and is called money hoarded outside banks.

This means that this huge amount of monetary mass is disabled from performing its role in development, and since the banks are the driving tool for the wheel of development through their credit (lending) policies, they are unable to perform this role for this reason. Therefore, you find our economy unable to advance due to the decline in the development performance of the banks. .

Meanwhile, monetary policy is moving towards motivating the depositor public to deal with banks. The Central Bank’s latest circular last week urged banks to facilitate procedures and create incentives at attractive interest rates for the purpose of attracting depositors.

What is the challenge facing this trend?

The trust factor is the most difficult number and the basic indicator for the success of the process of attracting the public’s hoarded funds to deposit them in banks.

Banks in all countries of the developed world are the primary engine of the economy through their role in implementing development through their lending policies that contribute to generating interest that accrues to depositors and bank owners with lucrative profits by investing money and making profits. They also contribute to the implementation of projects and thus contribute to the circulation of funds.

But the problem with Iraqi banks, in all frankness and transparency, is that they suffer from a loss of public confidence, which is a deep-rooted, inherited problem due to the actions of some banks due to the weakness of their management and the alienation of depositors from them.

How do we restore confidence in light of the new trend?

The public is looking for a guarantee (an insurance policy) in order to be encouraged to deposit their hoards, and this requires facilitating deposits and withdrawals in an easy way without boring routine complications. However, the poor banking behavior of some employees and the complexities of police-style instructions contribute to the public’s reluctance.

(Insurance policy) means the body that officially guarantees the public’s deposits in the event of the collapse of a particular bank, and here comes the role of the Deposit Insurance Company, which was recently established for this purpose.

Here I have an assessment of the Deposit Insurance Company, with all transparency and clarity, that its performance is weak, inactive, and unknown, and it requires the formation of a regular and influential media unit to market its activity on an ongoing basis, and for the company to take the initiative to give guarantees to depositors by guaranteeing their money with a signed official paper distributed among all depositors in any bank, in light of which it bears responsibility. Why is it legal to guarantee deposits? Otherwise, why was it established?

Thus, it can provide partial security that encourages the public to deposit in banks and gradually restore confidence.

The fluctuation of the dollar exchange rate cannot be overlooked in creating chaos and mistrust.

But we are talking about the national currency, which is still strong, and there is no problem in depositing and withdrawing it with the company’s guarantee. link

Mot: . Ya Gots to be - careful what Ya Ask fir