It is not only the deposits of the Lebanese that have apparently been frozen or lost in banks, they have also seized millions ofIraqi money In this country mired in successive economic crises.
An “informed” source in the Central Bank of Lebanon confirmed that more than 18 billion dollars belonging to Iraqi politicians, the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government “evaporated” due to the banking crisis in Lebanon.
The source, who asked not to be named, said, “This is what can be counted, and it is officially registered with the names of Iraqi personalities, companies, or government agencies,” noting that “there are many personalities whose balances have been registered under other names and with other nationalities,” according to the website. Media Line.
“much higher”
He also explained that “the numbers are much higher. There are politicians who fear sanctions, so they opened bank accounts in the names of Lebanese personalities who follow the same trend, and they are mostly followers of Hezbollah and the Amal movement, loyal to Iran, or even Sunni personalities.”
He also added that “the Iraqis have not yet asked to withdraw their money, and if they did, the Banque du Liban will not be able to meet the request because it does not have sufficient liquidity. Until there is liquidity, these funds remain just numbers in the banks.”
He pointed out that “there are more than 1.3 billion dollars belonging to the Iraqi government and more than 650 million dollars belonging to the Kurdistan Regional Government. As for the rest of the amounts, they belong to political figures, businessmen and others who hold Iraqi citizenship, and their money was deposited in Lebanese banks in their names and nationalities. They hold other nationalities, such as European, Iranian, Asian and American, we will not be able to count them.”
Money back in installments
For his part, Abdul Rahman al-Mashhadani, an Iraqi economic analyst, said that “this money can be recovered if the government requests it, but the money of Iraqi politicians cannot be claimed.”
He added that Lebanon cannot pay the money now, but an agreement can be reached in order to recover the money in installments.
(Istok)
“Circumvention of US Sanctions”
He also pointed out that “Lebanon is one of the countries in which Iraqis deposit their money the most because the government there is loyal to Hezbollah, which in turn is loyal to Iran, and this agrees with the orientations of many Iraqi politicians.”
He also considered that “in Lebanon, due to the influence of Hezbollah, it is possible to circumvent the American sanctions imposed on personalities and parties loyal to Iran so that they can deposit their money there without fear.”
‘financial crisis’
He explained that “what happened to the Lebanese banks caused some Iraqi politicians to fall into a financial crisis. But frankly, it is a small part of what the corrupt politicians own. Their assets exceed these sums by much.”
He also added that “Sunni Iraqi politicians can easily deposit their money in European and Turkish banks. However, Iraqi Shiite politicians can only use banks in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Since the economic conditions in Iran and Syria were very dangerous, Lebanese banks were the preferred solution before the economic collapse.” in that country.”
interest more than 5%
In turn, Ahmed A., a former employee of the Iraqi embassy in Lebanon, on condition that his full name not be mentioned, said that he witnessed in his work the transfer of many Iraqi funds to Lebanon.
He explained that “the amounts were in the billions and they have not been withdrawn,” adding that “Lebanese banks It used to pay more than 5% interest, which is what prompted Iraqi politicians to deposit their money in it, and now they can’t withdraw it.”
Some to Iran
He also pointed out that “specialized companies (..) implicitly linked to Hezbollah oversaw the transfer of funds and managed the bank accounts of Iraqi politicians in Lebanon, as Lebanon was chosen to deal with these funds because of Hezbollah’s control of banks.”
He also revealed that some money goes to Iran as a form of support. “The politicians have billions of dollars in funds, some of which are the result of corrupt deals for foreign companies, which transfer these funds directly to the accounts of Iraqis in Lebanon.”
Mazhar Muhammad Salih, an advisor to the Iraqi prime minister, told local media, “The politicians who have money in Lebanese banks should forget it. She will not return.” However, he refused to answer questions about Iraqi government funds.
political corruption
It is noteworthy that political corruption in Iraq contributed to the flight of funds abroad. Iraqi politicians who obtained money illegally deposited it regularly in foreign banks.
However, since the end of 2017, when the US government under former President Donald Trump began imposing sanctions on some politicians, depositing money abroad has become difficult, except for countries that have not implemented US sanctions.