Iraq Central Bank governor talks international bank transfer process, exchange rate concerns

BAGHDAD — Central Bank of Iraq Governor Ali Al-Alaq announced on Wednesday that all external transfer operations are now subject to monitoring and auditing before execution. He emphasized that this oversight happens prior to the transactions, rather than afterward. Al-Alaq also clarified that the recent decline in oil prices has no connection to the rise in the exchange rate, adding that any dollar exchange rate exceeding the official state rate signals irregular operations.

The official exchange rate from the Central Bank of Iraq stands at $100 for 132,000 Iraqi dinars, while the market rate has reached $100 for 149,000 to 150,000 dinars as of Wednesday.

Al-Alaq’s statements to Iraqi News Agency:

The Central Bank provides the U.S. dollar at the official rate for all commercial and personal channels, travelers, and for all types of operations that represent legitimate activities, transactions, and requests.

Any price outside the state is a sign of irregular operations that attempt to operate outside the official, legal, and proper channels. There is a need to focus on the volume of sales conducted by the Central Bank at the official rate for dollar seekers, whether they are traders, importers, individuals, or travelers.

Methods have been established for each channel to ensure the provision of the dollar, alongside a very significant level of oversight to verify the integrity of transactions before they are executed. This represents a major shift in external transfer operations, as they were previously audited at a later stage, whereas today, no transfer is executed until it undergoes the audit process.

The decline in oil prices is unrelated to the rise in the exchange rate, as Iraq has sufficient foreign currency reserves to defend the exchange rate.