Iraq bans US dollar transactions to boost local currency
10,000 Iraqi dinar bills. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Interior imposed a ban on the use of US dollars in personal and commercial transactions in Iraq.
According to local reports, the ban, which came into force last Sunday, aims to promote the use of the local currency, the Iraqi dinar, and limit the use of the US dollar in Iraq.
The measure is expected to reduce the difference between the official exchange rate offered by the government and the exchange rate in the black market, a difference that has driven up prices.
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior mentioned in a statement that the Iraqi dinar is the national currency in Iraq, and the commitment to dealing with local currency enhances the sovereignty and economy of the country.
The Interior Ministry also indicated that dealing in currencies other than the Iraqi dinar is punishable by law and that it is committed to holding those trying to undermine the Iraqi currency.
To impose this ban, the Interior Ministry’s Anti-Organized Crime Directorate requested merchants to sign undertakings, affirming that they would conduct their businesses only using the Iraqi dinar.
Director of operations in the Anti-Organized Crime Directorate, Hussein Al-Tamimi, said that violating merchants will be fined one million Iraqi dinars (equivalent to $680).
Al-Tamimi added that if the violation is repeated, harsher penalties, including imprisonment, will be applied.