Directing criticism at the Iraqi Central Bank…an economist shows the numbers of banks sanctioned by America

Information/private… The economic expert, Dhia Al-Mohsen, counted the number of banks that were affected by the US Treasury Department’s sanctions, while confirming that the Central Bank of Iraq is in one valley, and the sanctions are “in another valley.”

Al-Mohsen said, in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, that “the banking system, managed by the Central Bank, should have directed sanctions on private banks by itself, and not by the US Federal Reserve.”

He added, “The banks that succeeded the Americans, the management of the Central Bank, has information about them, which operates in violation of the system and instructions of the Iraqi Central Bank regarding private transactions with customers, whether inside or outside the country.”

The economic expert explained, “If the central bank has information about these banks, and the sanctions come from abroad, it seems that the bank’s management is not worthy of managing this important file at the internal or external level of the country, given that the banking system has foreign dealings.”

Al-Mohsen stated, “Since the tenth month of 2023, the American sanctions have affected 14 banks, in addition to the 8 new banks,” pointing out that “these banks represent more than 40%, considering the presence of 72 banks, and this is a large percentage.”

The economist stressed, “This percentage gives an indication that the management of the Central Bank is not concerned with what is happening around it, as if it is in one valley, and the sanctions imposed on private banks are in another valley.”

Earlier today, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury on Iraqi banks.

The US Treasury Department recently imposed economic sanctions on seven Iraqi banks, which were preceded by sanctions on fourteen Iraqi banks, preventing them from dealing in dollars, as the reasons behind imposing such sanctions were not explained.

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