Iraq prevents banks from dealing in dollars... for this reason

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[size=52]Iraq prevents banks from dealing in dollars... for this reason[/size]

[size=45]Iraq decided to prevent eight local commercial banks from dealing in dollars, as part of measures taken to limit fraud, money laundering, and other illegal uses of the US currency, days after the visit of a senior US Treasury official to Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]Under this decision, the eight banks will be prohibited from participating in the daily dollar auction organized by the Central Bank of Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]The auction is the main source of hard currency in the country that depends on imports. According to what was reported by Reuters.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq has become a focal point in the American campaign aimed at reducing dollar smuggling to Iran.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq, a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, has reserves of more than $100 billion in the United States and relies heavily on the good will of Washington to ensure that its access to oil revenues and financial resources are not hampered.[/size]
[size=45]The Central Bank of Iraq issued a document, verified by a bank official, that included the names of the banned banks: Assyria International Investment Bank, Iraqi Investment Bank, Iraqi Union Bank, Kurdistan International Islamic Bank for Investment and Development, Al-Huda Bank, Al-Janoub Islamic Bank for Investment and Finance, Al-Arabiya Islamic Bank, and Hammurabi Commercial Bank.[/size]
[size=45]The head of the Iraqi Private Banks Association, which represents the banks subject to the ban, and the Assyria International Investment and Hammurabi Commercial Banks have not responded to requests for comment yet. Reuters is making contact with other banks.[/size]
[size=45]A US Treasury Department spokesman said, “We commend the steps that the Central Bank of Iraq is constantly taking to protect the Iraqi financial system from abuse.”[/size]
[size=45]Last July, Iraq decided to prevent 14 banks from conducting transactions in dollars as part of a broader campaign aimed at preventing the smuggling of dollars to Iran at that time through the Iraqi banking system. Iraqi and American officials said that the decision came after a request from Washington.[/size]
[size=45]The central bank says banks banned from dealing in dollars are allowed to continue operating and conducting transactions in other currencies.[/size]
[size=45]Brian Nelson, Undersecretary of the US Treasury for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence, met last week with senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad and discussed with them ways to protect the Iraqi and international financial systems from criminal, corrupt and terrorist entities.[/size]
[size=45]The Treasury Department announced measures against Al-Huda Bank during the visit, saying it had participated in transferring billions of dollars to Iranian-backed groups.[/size]
[size=45]A senior Treasury Department official told Reuters that Washington expects Iraq to make a greater effort to help confront Iranian-backed armed groups carrying out operations from Iraq after the killing of three American soldiers last week. Washington held extremist Iraqi factions responsible for this attack.[/size]
[size=45]The current Iraqi government came to power with the support of powerful Iranian-backed parties and armed factions with interests in Iraq's largely informal economy, including the financial sector, which has long been viewed as a center for money laundering.[/size]
[size=45]Western officials praised the cooperation with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani in implementing economic and financial reforms aimed at limiting the ability of Iran and its allies to access the dollar, and bringing the Iraqi economy in line with international standards.[/size]
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