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This is a big problem and this illustrates why we should of kept 5,000 to 10,000 troops in Iraq permanently just to have a quick reaction force. All those years of bloodshed just to have these f_ckers back out on the streets.
"In Washington, U.S. officials closely monitoring the jailbreak said the number of escapees was thought to be 500 to 600, including a significant number of al-Qaeda operatives.
The gains of the surge are in jeopardy, said Aymenn al-Tamimi, a fellow with the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum who monitors extremist activity in Iraq and Syria.
“This is a significant milestone in the resurgence of al-Qaeda in Iraq,” he said. “A good deal of the progress achieved from 2006 onwards has essentially been undone now.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraq-jailbreak-highlights-al-qaeda-affiliates-ascendancy/2013/07/22/a405bb1c-f301-11e2-8505-bf6f231e77b4_story.html
According to Tamimi, “Iraq is not ready to control the possible currency fraud that may result from the deletion of zeros.” The Finance Committee, Tamimi added, “is now working toward controlling the Iraqi currency auction, which is witnessing a significant fluctuation in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar.”
“Development is the gateway to strengthening the currency. Thus, raising the value of the dinar is more important than the deletion of zeros,” she said.
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/22/officials-divided-over-dinar-reset/
According to Tamimi, “Iraq is not ready to control the possible currency fraud that may result from the deletion of zeros.” The Finance Committee, Tamimi added, “is now working toward controlling the Iraqi currency auction, which is witnessing a significant fluctuation in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar.”
“Development is the gateway to strengthening the currency. Thus, raising the value of the dinar is more important than the deletion of zeros,” she said.
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/22/officials-divided-over-dinar-reset/
Vietnam president to visit US, ties expected to get boost
Last Updated: Friday, July 19, 2013 08:00:00
President Truong Tan Sang will be in the US from July 24 to 26 for a visit described by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of great significance in making bilateral ties broader and deeper.
He would hold talks with American President Barack Obama on major directions for bilateral ties, especially economic, trade, investment, science and technology, and education and training, MOFA spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said at a media briefing Thursday.
Nghi said the two sides would discuss international and regional issues of mutual concern, and that Sang would meet representatives of the US government, Congress, and a number of international organizations, US scholars and businesspeople as well as the Vietnamese community there.
Since Vietnam and the US normalized relations in 1995, their ties have been developing positively.
They have agreed on establishing a relationship of active partnership and friendship, multifaceted cooperation, mutual respect and benefit.
The visit would be significant in continuing the promotion of bilateral ties, he said.
A statement released July 11 on the White House website said Obama would host Sang at the White House on July 25.
“The President welcomes this opportunity to discuss with President Sang how to further strengthen our partnership on regional strategic issues and enhance our cooperation with ASEAN.
“The President also looks forward to discussing human rights, emerging challenges such as climate change, and the importance of completing a high standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.”
This visit would be only the second by a Vietnamese head of state to Washington since 1995, after Nguyen Minh Triet’s visit in 2007.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20130719-vietnam-president-to-visit-us-for-closer-ties.aspx
Katie Couric and Brian Williams and a tough old U.S. Marine Sergeant were captured by terrorists in Iraq . The leader of the terrorists told them he would grant each of them one last request before they were beheaded and dragged naked through the streets.
Katie Couric said, "Well, I'm a Southerner, so I'd like one last plate of Draper Valley fried chicken." The leader nodded to an underling
who left and returned with chicken. Couric ate it all and said,
"Now I can die content."
Brian Williams said, "I want to take out my tape recorder and describe the scene here and what's about to happen. Maybe, someday, someone will hear it and know that I was on the job till the end." The leader directed an aide to hand over the tape recorder and Williams dictated his comments. He then said, "Now I can die happy."
The leader turned and asked, "And now, Mr. U.S. Marine, what is your final wish?"
"Kick me in the ass," said the Marine.
"I'm NOT kidding. I want you to kick me in the ass," insisted the
Marine.
So the leader shoved him into the yard and kicked him in the ass.
The Marine went sprawling, but rolled to his knees, pulled a 9 mm
pistol from inside his cammies and shot the leader dead. In the
resulting confusion, he emptied his sidearm on six terrorists, then
with his knife he slashed the throat of one, and with an AK-47, which he took, sprayed the rest of the terrorists, killing another 11.
In a flash, all of them were either dead or fleeing for their lives.
As the Marine was untying Couric and Williams, they asked him, "Why didn't you just shoot them all in the first place? Why did you ask him to kick you in the ass?"
"What?" replied the Marine, "and have you two assholes report that I was the aggressor.....?"
Automotive arm of Turkey’s Dogus Holding, Dogus Otomotiv, stated that the company has agreed to conclude an agreement with automakers Volkswagen and Audi to establish a company in Iraq.
Dogus Otomotiv will owe 100 percent of the stakes in company which will be dealing with the distribution and after sale services for Volkswagen and Audi cars in the country, Dogus Otomotiv said in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).
150 million Iraqi dinars will be the initial property or capital of the company, he added. Dogus Otomotiv represents 15 international brands – including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, SEAT, Skoda, Scania, Krone and Meiller – in the passenger car, light commercial vehicle, heavy transport commercial vehicle and industrial and marine engine segments.
It is the Turkish representative for VW Marine and Scania Engines in the industrial and marine engine markets, and for the Thermo King brand in the thermal-control systems sector. The automobile market of Iraq has been expected to boom after this significant venture in the country as opined by the financial analysts and experts.
The number of Turkish companies operating in the KRG, which was around 485 in 2009, tripled today to around 1500. This boost is actually a resultant of the close relationship between Turkey and Kurdistan region.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/en/2013/07/16/24532/turkeys-dogus-to-open-an-automobile-firm-in-iraq.aspx
Automotive arm of Turkey’s Dogus Holding, Dogus Otomotiv, stated that the company has agreed to conclude an agreement with automakers Volkswagen and Audi to establish a company in Iraq.
Dogus Otomotiv will owe 100 percent of the stakes in company which will be dealing with the distribution and after sale services for Volkswagen and Audi cars in the country, Dogus Otomotiv said in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).
150 million Iraqi dinars will be the initial property or capital of the company, he added. Dogus Otomotiv represents 15 international brands – including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, SEAT, Skoda, Scania, Krone and Meiller – in the passenger car, light commercial vehicle, heavy transport commercial vehicle and industrial and marine engine segments.
It is the Turkish representative for VW Marine and Scania Engines in the industrial and marine engine markets, and for the Thermo King brand in the thermal-control systems sector. The automobile market of Iraq has been expected to boom after this significant venture in the country as opined by the financial analysts and experts.
The number of Turkish companies operating in the KRG, which was around 485 in 2009, tripled today to around 1500. This boost is actually a resultant of the close relationship between Turkey and Kurdistan region.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/en/2013/07/16/24532/turkeys-dogus-to-open-an-automobile-firm-in-iraq.aspx
Nice - we are getting closer :)
$DINAR
For God sakes man please don't blow up my shopping mall. lol
The Baghdad Investment Commission (BIC) has inaugurated a new $35-million shopping mall in the Mansoor [Mansur] district.
The mall, the largest of its kind in Iraq, has four floors housing some of the world’s most famous commercial brands.
According to a report from Azzaman, it was the largest construction project undertaken by the commission, and one of the biggest private sector investment schemes in the capital
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/14/new-35m-shopping-mall-opens-in-baghdad/
For God sakes man please don't blow up my shopping mall. lol
The Baghdad Investment Commission (BIC) has inaugurated a new $35-million shopping mall in the Mansoor [Mansur] district.
The mall, the largest of its kind in Iraq, has four floors housing some of the world’s most famous commercial brands.
According to a report from Azzaman, it was the largest construction project undertaken by the commission, and one of the biggest private sector investment schemes in the capital
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/14/new-35m-shopping-mall-opens-in-baghdad/
Nice News!
Avoiding currency dropping suggested to CBI by parliamentary committee member
Iraqi Economic parliamentary: the process of deleting zeros of currency will imbalance state budget.
A member of the parliamentary economic committee Hussein Al Mura’aby has stated that the procedure of omitting the zeros from the Iraqi currecies will lead to imbalace in the state budget.
In a statement, he claimed, “The urgency on the subject of deletion of zeros from the currency will lead to a major embarrassment for the government.” He further added, “We as members of the parliamentary economic committee advised the central bank to wait and lack of urgency and to clarify the dimensions of this issue to the Parliament as well as to the government.”
Al Mura'aby explained that not only it will disrupt the next budget of Iraq but will also invoke the chances of smuggling and money laundering issues. He said that omitting zeros will reduce liquidity and increase inflation by up to 100%.
He pointed out that “there are poor in monetary experience we can manage this file for the time being efficient and transparent.”’
“We do not have a clear vision of the possibilities of the central bank in the management of this thorny issue being works full independence from the government and parliament,”, as concluded by him.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/en/2013/07/14/24509/avoiding-currency-dropping-suggested-to-cbi-by-parliamentary-committee-member.aspx
Nice News!
Avoiding currency dropping suggested to CBI by parliamentary committee member
Iraqi Economic parliamentary: the process of deleting zeros of currency will imbalance state budget.
A member of the parliamentary economic committee Hussein Al Mura’aby has stated that the procedure of omitting the zeros from the Iraqi currecies will lead to imbalace in the state budget.
In a statement, he claimed, “The urgency on the subject of deletion of zeros from the currency will lead to a major embarrassment for the government.” He further added, “We as members of the parliamentary economic committee advised the central bank to wait and lack of urgency and to clarify the dimensions of this issue to the Parliament as well as to the government.”
Al Mura'aby explained that not only it will disrupt the next budget of Iraq but will also invoke the chances of smuggling and money laundering issues. He said that omitting zeros will reduce liquidity and increase inflation by up to 100%.
He pointed out that “there are poor in monetary experience we can manage this file for the time being efficient and transparent.”’
“We do not have a clear vision of the possibilities of the central bank in the management of this thorny issue being works full independence from the government and parliament,”, as concluded by him.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/en/2013/07/14/24509/avoiding-currency-dropping-suggested-to-cbi-by-parliamentary-committee-member.aspx
Problem with that is if you can't prove you bought it years ago then there is no way you can show it was a long term investment.
So they will tax the hell out of us. Just the way it is...
I've flown into Baghdad International a few times and had to get an Iraq Visa. If you didn't have exact change they told you they didn't have change and would just keep your money. Trust me customs will rob you if they can.
Hope you're 100 percent correct. I'm ready for this ride to come to an end - it's been a long one...
2013 - the year of the Iraq Dinar - imo
Then you're good for Peru. My wife is from the Philippines and I had a way in. Plus at least for now the Philippine peso rate fluctuates around 40 to 43 pesos on the dollar...
Here is a question - stay in the USA or move?
Part of the equation there for me are two kids ages 15 and 13 both smart - how to decide the path best for them as well?
This has been posted many times before, but it's good for another ;)
3. Estimate the amended exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar to be used in technical and economical feasibility studies and for (1.134) dollar per dinar . This price should be approved for 3 years until re-appreciation by the competent authorities.
http://www.mop.gov.iq/mop/index.jsp?sid=1&id=308&pid=295&lng=en
Citigroup May Fund Iraq-Jordan Pipeline
By John Lee.
Forty companies are reported to be bidding for contracts to build and finance the new pipeline from Haditha to Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba (pictured).
Nateq Balasem Khalaf, deputy director general of the state State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), told Bloomberg that Citibank is among the bidders, adding that other interested banks and companies are from Russia, South Korea, Japan, Italy, China, Egypt, Jordan, and Germany.
The new crude pipeline would carry 1 million barrels a day, including 150,000 barrels a day for Jordan’s domestic consumption, and the rest for export, while the gas pipeline would transport 252 million cubic feet a day, of which 100 million cubic feet would be exported to Jordan.
SNC-Lavalin Group (SNC) is advising the government on ways to build new routes to export oil currently shipped via pipeline to Turkey and by sea through the Persian Gulf.
Khalaf said that the government plans to build and finance a separate section of the network itself to Haditha from Basra, for which it will ask for bids from pipeline suppliers by the end of the year.
Citigroup, a U.S. lender scaling back in some emerging markets, plans to open offices and branches in Iraq to benefit from an estimated $1 trillion of infrastructure spending there, Mayank Malik, the bank’s chief executive officer for Jordan, Iraq, Syria and the Palestinian territories, said in a June 27 interview.
Iraq will start operating its third offshore export facility for crude by the end of the year and plans to upgrade its two onshore terminals at Basra and Khor al-Amaya, Khalaf said. The government is building 16 crude-storage tanks in the southern port of al-Faw, each with a capacity of 58,000 cubic feet. Four are operational, another four are to be completed by the end of July and the rest by year-end, he said.
Iraq is on track to increase crude exports to 3.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2013, Khalaf said. The country produced 3.15 million barrels a day to 3.2 million barrels a day on average in June, according to an e-mailed Oil Ministry statement on June 29.
(Source: Bloomberg)
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/05/citigroup-may-fund-iraq-jordan-pipeline/
The Wall Street Journal reports that the China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corp. (CPPE) and Iraq’s State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) have secured a contract worth up to $317 million to build an oil pipeline from the Missan oil fields to the export terminals in southern Iraq.
Over a period of 14 months the companies will build the 272-kilometer pipeline, with SCOP building 60 kilometers and CPPE building the rest.
The pipeline will link the newly developed Halfaya, Buzurkan, Fuka and Abu Ghareb fields with the export terminals.
PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is the operator of Halfaya oil field along with Total and Petronas. CNOOC, the Hong Kong-listed unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp, is developing three other fields in Missan [Maysan] — Buzurkan, Fuka and Abu Ghareb — along with state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/03/china-shares-317m-pipeline-contract/
The Wall Street Journal reports that the China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corp. (CPPE) and Iraq’s State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) have secured a contract worth up to $317 million to build an oil pipeline from the Missan oil fields to the export terminals in southern Iraq.
Over a period of 14 months the companies will build the 272-kilometer pipeline, with SCOP building 60 kilometers and CPPE building the rest.
The pipeline will link the newly developed Halfaya, Buzurkan, Fuka and Abu Ghareb fields with the export terminals.
PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is the operator of Halfaya oil field along with Total and Petronas. CNOOC, the Hong Kong-listed unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp, is developing three other fields in Missan [Maysan] — Buzurkan, Fuka and Abu Ghareb — along with state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/03/china-shares-317m-pipeline-contract/
:)
"Iraq’s participation in international conferences, chairing the Conference on Disarmament, and exiting the provisions of Chapter VII enhanced Iraq’s position in the international community."
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/03/iraq-participates-in-international-nuclear-conference/
:)
"Iraq’s participation in international conferences, chairing the Conference on Disarmament, and exiting the provisions of Chapter VII enhanced Iraq’s position in the international community."
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/07/03/iraq-participates-in-international-nuclear-conference/
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/26/un-to-decide-on-ending-chapter-vii-sanctions/
History is happening right before our eyes :)
In his report to the Security Council, Ban said, “The governments of Iraq and Kuwait have demonstrated statesmanship and respect for each other’s national interests, in reaching a mutually acceptable and beneficial arrangement. … Should the Security Council agree with my recommendation, Iraq will exit Chapter VII with regard to this file and will be one step closer to restoring its international standing, … an objective long sought by the leadership of the country following the removal of the regime of Saddam Hussein.”
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/26/un-to-decide-on-ending-chapter-vii-sanctions/
History is happening right before our eyes :)
In his report to the Security Council, Ban said, “The governments of Iraq and Kuwait have demonstrated statesmanship and respect for each other’s national interests, in reaching a mutually acceptable and beneficial arrangement. … Should the Security Council agree with my recommendation, Iraq will exit Chapter VII with regard to this file and will be one step closer to restoring its international standing, … an objective long sought by the leadership of the country following the removal of the regime of Saddam Hussein.”
Oh I've thought about it so I won't take what you said as ball busting on my intelligence at all. I was just saying that .10 cents will make me very happy. I've been waiting since 2006 and I'm a war contractor/former Marine. I've got damn near 10 years of life invested in the middle east. Just saying...
We'll see what happens and if it goes anywhere near your predictions then I'll own whatever I want, but only time will tell...
If the RV happens then it's a win/win for everyone. I'm still very skeptical on some folks stating it's going to go dollars. For me .10 to .15 cents is a life changer...
2013 - the year of the Iraq Dinar$ - imo ;)
"Should the Security Council agree with my recommendation, Iraq will exit Chapter 7 with regard to this file and will be one step closer to restoring its international standing ... an objective long sought by the leadership of the country following the removal of the regime of Saddam Hussein," he said.
Been on vacation in Boracay, Philippines and just got back home today. Have to say it's good stuff to read this - we're getting closer. 2013 the year of the Iraq $dinar - imo ;)
Looks to me the Iraq government has high hopes $$$
"Estimate the amended exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar to be used in technical and economical feasibility studies and for (1.134) dollar per dinar . This price should be approved for 3 years until re-appreciation by the competent authorities."
I hear ya, but I just roll with the punches and keep working.
Have a good day...
Doesn't matter there will be paramilitary companies working in Afghan long after the final combat troops are pulled out. When folks don't have the means to make it where they are from then they will go to any lengths to provide for their families. Life...
So China gets the majority of Iraq's oil and now Russia is arming the Iraqis.
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/03/russia-starts-fulfilling-4-2bn-iraqi-arms-order/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/world/middleeast/china-reaps-biggest-benefits-of-iraq-oil-boom.html?ref=world&_r=2&;
So China gets the majority of Iraq's oil and now Russia is arming the Iraqis.
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/03/russia-starts-fulfilling-4-2bn-iraqi-arms-order/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/world/middleeast/china-reaps-biggest-benefits-of-iraq-oil-boom.html?ref=world&_r=2&
So China gets the majority of Iraq's oil and now Russia is arming the Iraqis.
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/03/russia-starts-fulfilling-4-2bn-iraqi-arms-order/
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/01/dodgy-dinar-fake-passports-in-bogus-banking-currency-crisis/
Dodgy Dinar: Fake Passports in Bogus Banking, Currency Crisis
Posted on 01 June 2013. Tags: dinar, IQD, iraqi dinar
Pages: 1 2 3
By Mustafa Habib.
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
During the past month of violence, the Iraqi dinar’s value has fluctuated radically. Now black market money men are using Iraq’s poorer passport holders to take advantage of a government measure to stabilise currency.
In the middle of a long queue waiting to enter a branch of the Rafidain Bank, Iraq’s state bank and its largest, is Baghdad woman who wished only to be known as Sadoun. She’s waiting in the queue to exchange her Iraqi dinars for US$500. Although she’s not saying so now, when she gets in there to the tellers, she may well pretend she is going overseas. She may even show her passport with a forged international visa stamped inside it. This allows her to take advantage of a recent government subsidy meant to artificially maintain the Iraqi dinar’s value; the state bank buys the dinars at a higher rate.
In Sadoun’s case, she will exchange IQD1,900 for one US dollar. In the unofficial exchange shops, which are found throughout Iraq, she would exchange around IQD1,200 for one US dollar. So that difference of around 10 percent makes the waiting in this queue worthwhile.
Sadoun is not the only person doing this. The fresh round of violence in Iraq which has seen over 500 dead in May, among other factors like politics, unresolved financial issues and regional conflicts, has caused dramatic fluctuations in the value of the dinar against the US dollar. Most Iraqis use dinars for small purchases, like groceries, but use US dollars when buying bigger ticket items – one of the main reasons for this is that they don’t need to carry around bags of cash in dinars, they need only take several bills in a wallet.
As local economist Majid al-Suri told NIQASH, “the decline in the dinar against the US dollar since April can be attributed to many political issues, as well as security and financial administration problems. This has seen many merchants and businessmen transfer money outside the country, exchanging their Iraqi dinar for dollars because they’re afraid the dinar will only become more unstable. A few months ago, Iraq’s central bank was selling around US$50 to US$150 million a day,” al-Suri explained. “Now demand has increased and it’s selling more than US$400 million a day. That’s a huge increase.”
The current security problems, which are reminding locals of the violent years between 2006 and 2008 when the country was virtually in a state of civil war, has also seen projects come to a standstill and the movement of cash around the economy slow down. Wealthier Iraqis are leaving the country and foreign firms are pulling their contractors out until things calm down. “Our parent company in Turkey has decided to pull all their Turkish staff out,” said one Iraqi employee of a Turkish construction company building houses in Baghdad. “We haven’t been able to do any business here at all over the past month; Iraqis have stopped building right now.”
Against this troubled backdrop, the Iraqi government is trying to shore up the dinar’s value. They are allowing state and private banks to exchange US$5,000 for dinars at an inflated, official rate for Iraqis who hold a passport and are planning to travel overseas or for medical treatment. They may only do this once a month.
However unlicensed exchange shops have been quick to take advantage of this. Iraq’s black market money market doesn’t have too many rules or regulations – anyone can buy US dollars from hundreds of both licensed and unlicensed exchange shops. And there’s currently a difference between the official exchange rate and that on the black market of between 8 and 10 percent.
“Getting a license from the bank requires a lot of paperwork and there’s also favouritism at work,” one money changer, Kazim Jassim, from Baghdad’s Mansour neighbourhood, told NIQASH. “That’s why I just started. I’ve been doing this for seven years now and never once has anybody asked me what I’m doing, or tried to stop me,” he explains.
And those money traders are approaching people on the street – especially if they look needy – and asking them if they’d like to make a comparatively quick profit. They give them the US$5,000 to take to the bank. The money is exchanged, then changed again on the black market. The profit of around US$400 is easy money for the money changers and the person who queued at the bank gets US$100 for their trouble.
NIQASH met up with a number of people who’ve been doing this kind of bogus banking regularly. “The visa stamps on our passports are forged,” one of them told NIQASH. “The exchange shops stamp the visas on our passports so that we can show it to the bank employees in order to convince them that we are travelling abroad.”
Some of the queue-standers said the bank employees had been catching on. Some were distrustful, others demanded a cut of the profits before they would do the exchange.
As a result of all of the above, there have been plenty of criticisms made of the way the Iraqi Central Bank and the Iraqi government are handing the currency crisis.
Sadrist MP Jawad al-Shuhaili, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s integrity committee, told NIQASH that the dinar’s decline could be traced back to the removal of the former Central Bank governor, Sinan al-Shabibi. Al-Shabibi, who is generally seen to have revitalised the Central Bank after 2003, tightened up several fiscal procedures that meant smuggling money from Iraq to Iran became much harder; eventually he had an arrest warrant issued against him.
Al-Shabibi was replaced by former Minister for Human Rights, Abdel Basset Turki. And now, al-Shabibi says, “the new administration of the bank is unable to control the dollar smuggling operations”.
The integrity committee is looking into Turki’s supervision of the Central Bank, al-Shabibi said. “Initial reports indicate that the monetary policies of the central bank are not very effective and that there are corrupt officials there who must be held accountable for the country’s ineffective monitory policies,” he said.
MP Majda al-Tamimi, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, says she expects the Iraqi dinar to decline further – and not just because of the black market exchange rates. It’s a systemic problem, she says. “There is no cooperation between the state institutions,” al-Tamimi explains. “And there’s no real supervision of ministries importing products from outside Iraq, such as the ministries of health and trade.”
However it’s also obvious there are no easy solutions to these problems. “The government should reconsider its fiscal policy and it should enact financial reforms for the banking and investment sectors,” economist Basem Antoine gives NIQASH a long to-do list for the Iraqi dinar’s recovery. “It needs to enhance the role of the private sector and fight administrative and financial corruption.”
http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/06/01/dodgy-dinar-fake-passports-in-bogus-banking-currency-crisis/
Dodgy Dinar: Fake Passports in Bogus Banking, Currency Crisis
Posted on 01 June 2013. Tags: dinar, IQD, iraqi dinar
Pages: 1 2 3
By Mustafa Habib.
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
During the past month of violence, the Iraqi dinar’s value has fluctuated radically. Now black market money men are using Iraq’s poorer passport holders to take advantage of a government measure to stabilise currency.
In the middle of a long queue waiting to enter a branch of the Rafidain Bank, Iraq’s state bank and its largest, is Baghdad woman who wished only to be known as Sadoun. She’s waiting in the queue to exchange her Iraqi dinars for US$500. Although she’s not saying so now, when she gets in there to the tellers, she may well pretend she is going overseas. She may even show her passport with a forged international visa stamped inside it. This allows her to take advantage of a recent government subsidy meant to artificially maintain the Iraqi dinar’s value; the state bank buys the dinars at a higher rate.
In Sadoun’s case, she will exchange IQD1,900 for one US dollar. In the unofficial exchange shops, which are found throughout Iraq, she would exchange around IQD1,200 for one US dollar. So that difference of around 10 percent makes the waiting in this queue worthwhile.
Sadoun is not the only person doing this. The fresh round of violence in Iraq which has seen over 500 dead in May, among other factors like politics, unresolved financial issues and regional conflicts, has caused dramatic fluctuations in the value of the dinar against the US dollar. Most Iraqis use dinars for small purchases, like groceries, but use US dollars when buying bigger ticket items – one of the main reasons for this is that they don’t need to carry around bags of cash in dinars, they need only take several bills in a wallet.
As local economist Majid al-Suri told NIQASH, “the decline in the dinar against the US dollar since April can be attributed to many political issues, as well as security and financial administration problems. This has seen many merchants and businessmen transfer money outside the country, exchanging their Iraqi dinar for dollars because they’re afraid the dinar will only become more unstable. A few months ago, Iraq’s central bank was selling around US$50 to US$150 million a day,” al-Suri explained. “Now demand has increased and it’s selling more than US$400 million a day. That’s a huge increase.”
The current security problems, which are reminding locals of the violent years between 2006 and 2008 when the country was virtually in a state of civil war, has also seen projects come to a standstill and the movement of cash around the economy slow down. Wealthier Iraqis are leaving the country and foreign firms are pulling their contractors out until things calm down. “Our parent company in Turkey has decided to pull all their Turkish staff out,” said one Iraqi employee of a Turkish construction company building houses in Baghdad. “We haven’t been able to do any business here at all over the past month; Iraqis have stopped building right now.”
Against this troubled backdrop, the Iraqi government is trying to shore up the dinar’s value. They are allowing state and private banks to exchange US$5,000 for dinars at an inflated, official rate for Iraqis who hold a passport and are planning to travel overseas or for medical treatment. They may only do this once a month.
However unlicensed exchange shops have been quick to take advantage of this. Iraq’s black market money market doesn’t have too many rules or regulations – anyone can buy US dollars from hundreds of both licensed and unlicensed exchange shops. And there’s currently a difference between the official exchange rate and that on the black market of between 8 and 10 percent.
“Getting a license from the bank requires a lot of paperwork and there’s also favouritism at work,” one money changer, Kazim Jassim, from Baghdad’s Mansour neighbourhood, told NIQASH. “That’s why I just started. I’ve been doing this for seven years now and never once has anybody asked me what I’m doing, or tried to stop me,” he explains.
And those money traders are approaching people on the street – especially if they look needy – and asking them if they’d like to make a comparatively quick profit. They give them the US$5,000 to take to the bank. The money is exchanged, then changed again on the black market. The profit of around US$400 is easy money for the money changers and the person who queued at the bank gets US$100 for their trouble.
NIQASH met up with a number of people who’ve been doing this kind of bogus banking regularly. “The visa stamps on our passports are forged,” one of them told NIQASH. “The exchange shops stamp the visas on our passports so that we can show it to the bank employees in order to convince them that we are travelling abroad.”
Some of the queue-standers said the bank employees had been catching on. Some were distrustful, others demanded a cut of the profits before they would do the exchange.
As a result of all of the above, there have been plenty of criticisms made of the way the Iraqi Central Bank and the Iraqi government are handing the currency crisis.
Sadrist MP Jawad al-Shuhaili, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s integrity committee, told NIQASH that the dinar’s decline could be traced back to the removal of the former Central Bank governor, Sinan al-Shabibi. Al-Shabibi, who is generally seen to have revitalised the Central Bank after 2003, tightened up several fiscal procedures that meant smuggling money from Iraq to Iran became much harder; eventually he had an arrest warrant issued against him.
Al-Shabibi was replaced by former Minister for Human Rights, Abdel Basset Turki. And now, al-Shabibi says, “the new administration of the bank is unable to control the dollar smuggling operations”.
The integrity committee is looking into Turki’s supervision of the Central Bank, al-Shabibi said. “Initial reports indicate that the monetary policies of the central bank are not very effective and that there are corrupt officials there who must be held accountable for the country’s ineffective monitory policies,” he said.
MP Majda al-Tamimi, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, says she expects the Iraqi dinar to decline further – and not just because of the black market exchange rates. It’s a systemic problem, she says. “There is no cooperation between the state institutions,” al-Tamimi explains. “And there’s no real supervision of ministries importing products from outside Iraq, such as the ministries of health and trade.”
However it’s also obvious there are no easy solutions to these problems. “The government should reconsider its fiscal policy and it should enact financial reforms for the banking and investment sectors,” economist Basem Antoine gives NIQASH a long to-do list for the Iraqi dinar’s recovery. “It needs to enhance the role of the private sector and fight administrative and financial corruption.”
For sure Toucan! Was talking to a couple friends of mine today who are both invested in the Iraq dinar and the consensus around the camp fire is something is coming whether it's good or bad ;)
Not looking to get rich, but a FAT BONUS would be nice.
$DINAR
Board Marked ;)
I said the same thing 7 years ago when I was buying at just over $400 per million. Still holding so I guess you can call me a long term investor ;)
2013 - the year of the $Dinar - imo
http://www.reagancoalition.com/articles/2013/20130508002-lauryn-hill.html
Singer Lauryn Hill Blames Slavery For Not Paying Taxes
05/08/13
Every now and then, some celebrity gets caught breaking the law and counts on his or her fame in getting off the hook, no matter how lame an excuse that's given. That was the case with Grammy Award-winning hip hop singer Lauryn Hill, who in federal court on Monday compared her experience in the music business to the slavery her ancestors endured.
Nevertheless, U.S. Magistrate Madeline Cox Arleo sentenced the liberal performer -- who pleaded guilty to the tax evasion charge last year -- to three months in prison for not paying $1 million in taxes over the past decade, as well as a $60,000 fine.
"I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them," the 37-year-old performer from South Orange, N.J., stated while occasionally pounding her fist on the podium. "I had an economic system imposed on me."
That “system” didn't seem to treat her poorly when the singer earned more than $1.8 million from 2005 to 2007, in addition to unpaid state and federal taxes in 2008 and 2009, which brought the total of earnings to approximately $2.3 million.
Hill recently posted this message on the Tumblr website regarding her situation:
I’ve remained silent, after an extensive healing process. This has been a 10+ year battle, for a long time played out behind closed doors, but now in front of the public eye.
I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings.
Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh weighed in on Hill's use of the “slavery” defense during his Tuesday broadcast:
"She's saying she shouldn't have to pay taxes because her parents were slaves," the radio host noted.