Iraqi Integrity Committee blames ex-CBI employee for US sanctions on banks
Shafaq News/ On Sunday, the IraqiParliamentary Integrity Committee accused a former Central Bank of Iraq (CBI)employee of being behind the US Federal Reserve sanctions on some banks in thecountry.
A total of 32 out of 72 banksoperating in Iraq have been sanctioned.
Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil, a member ofthe Integrity Committee, stated that the former CBI employee concealed emailsfrom the Federal Reserve, JPMorgan, and Citibank about banking operations.
“The failure to address these issuesresulted in sanctions against some banks…Most affected banks are unaware of thereasons for the sanctions,” she added.
Unusual Situation
Meanwhile, economic expert MustafaAkram Hantosh told Shafaq News that Dakhil's statements are “closer to reality”than those of the CBI.
He noted that “the collapse of theIraqi banking system and the sanctions on 32 Iraqi banks without clear chargesover the past year and a half is highly unusual, possibly a first-of-its-kindincident in global banking.”
Lack of Solutions
“The worst aspect,” Hantoshhighlighted, “is the CBI's failure to provide serious solutions. Instead, theCBI plans to cancel the Fitr platform by the end of 2024 and transferdollar-related operations to investor-owned banks and foreign ones (Jordanianand Gulf).”
The expert further warned, “If theCBI fails to address issues in Iraq’s banking sector, it could lead to thecollapse of the entire system and the loss of nearly 100,000 private bankingjobs to Jordan and Gulf countries.”
“Why don’t Iraqi banks secureguarantees to open dollar accounts with correspondent banks (Citibank/JPMorgan) like other countries in the region?” he asked. “Why the cooperation andauditing mechanism with Ernst & Young for non-dollar currency transactionsremains undetermined or unannounced?”
