BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- According to Reuters, on the 4th local time, Iraq's ** bank banned eight domestic commercial banks from engaging in dollar trading business to reduce fraud, money laundering and other illegal use of the dollar.
According to the report, eight banks, including the Azul International Investment Bank, the Iraqi Investment Bank, and the Iraqi Union Bank, are barred from participating in the Iraqi Central Bank's daily dollar auction, but can continue to operate their business, including trading in other countries' currencies.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Finance said the Ministry of Finance appreciates the continued measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq to protect Iraq's financial system from abuse, which has helped Iraq's legitimate banks achieve international connectivity through their banking relationships.
Reuters noted that the ban was mainly aimed at preventing Iran from accessing dollars through the Iraqi banking system. Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, met with senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad last week to discuss "protecting Iraq and the international financial system from crime, corruption and corruption."
In July 2023, Iraq banned 14 banks from trading in US dollars. Iraq** and the United States** claim that this decision was taken by Iraq at the request of the United States**. Reuters said that as a country dependent on imports, Iraq needs to rely heavily on the United States to ensure its smooth access to oil revenues and funds. (ENDS).