The IQD Team with Special Guest LJ
Investigate, Question & Deliver
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Highlights/Summary & Replay of Conference Call
Theme: Central Bank Iraq & Shabibi
Conference Call Replay - Oct 16, 2012
Download/Playback
or
760-569-7699 Pin 769478#
Recap of the News tonight
(Listen to the recording for all of the detailed analysis)
CBI / ECONOMY
Straight Talkin Mike takes us from the past to the present with the CBI with a Flashback from April 2012
RECAP CBI/ECONOMY
There has been a significant development in Iraq which directly affects the dinar that we’re all involved in. This is a fairly important conversation that we’re going to have and we’re going to tell you what’s going on. These are the facts as we know them at this point in time… this whole situation is developing and we can tell you what we know up to this point… it’s fairly significant and we’re not sure what the ramifications are… We beat that around for hours on the phone today, the good, bad and ugly so that we can come and put out to you some of the things that we kind-a have an idea of where it’s at and where it’s going… There are a lot of players; a lot of pieces on the board that have recently moved in that significantly affect this on the world stage as well as what’s going on.
Quick synopsis to bring everybody up-to-date to let everybody know where we’re at and what’s going on, talk about the events… There’s a lot of articles we have that are out there to significantly show what’s happened and to what we know up to this point in time to be what’s going on and that we’ve been able to corroborate through other sources.
We’re going to flashback to January of the beginning of the year where things were getting good and everybody was all happy and excited thinking that maybe they were going to revalue at that time… This is the first time that we pretty much have seen Maliki try to make an attempt to take over the CBI… He wanted to remove Dr. Shabibi and put his own people in there… At that time he was complaining about the $62 Billion dollars they had in reserves stating it should be Iraq’s and blah blah blah… Well what he did at that particular point in time is that he went to the courts and he was able to get 1 judge to tell him that the CBI was not an independent body and that the Council of Ministers had the power over the CBI… Well Dr. Shabibi was also able to go to the courts at that particular time and was able to get a ruling saying that they were independent and that they didn’t newt anything… So we’re going to flashback and read the Twilight News article from about April… This is what was in the news in April:
“Urgent .. "Twilight News" reveal and limit the policy document "central" However, Prime Minister al-Saadi is expected dismissal Shabibi” ---> LINK TO ARTICLE
LJ shares a news article he just received..
Iraq central bank chief sacked and sought for arrest in currency dispute
Hadeel Al Sayegh Oct 17, 2012
Iraq's cabinet yesterday named a replacement for the central bank governor, Sinan Al Shabibi, after he was suspended for alleged financial impropriety.
Parliament voted to replace Mr Al Shabibi following an investigation by a special parliamentary committee into possible manipulation of the country's currency against the US dollar by the central bank.
"The cabinet decided to authorise Abdelbasset Turki, the head of the board of supreme audit, to run the central bank indefinitely," said Ali Al Moussawi, the prime minister's spokesperson.
"The parliament today made a unanimous decision to vote for Abdelbasset, who is already handling many financial governmental decisions including the country's fiscal budget," Mr Al Moussawi said. "Subsequently, a decision was made to remove powers from Mr Al Shabibi as central bank governor."
The chairman of the parliamentary integrity committee, Baha Al Araji, said its investigation was "not about money, but about procedures that led to the weakening of the dinar against the dollar".
Arrest warrants have been issued for 30 people, including Mr Al Shabibi and his deputy, Mudher Saleh, said Haider Al Abadi, a member of the investigating committee and the chairman of the parliamentary finance committee.
He said officials were trying to establish whether the actions of the officials were a reckless oversight or intentional.
"There was a huge pressure on the currency, with the difference between buying and selling increasing in the local market, affecting the mass public," said Mr Al Abadi.
Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog confirmed yesterday that it had launched an inquiry into the bank after it received the investigation report from the parliament.
In April, the central bank introduced new regulations to govern currency auctions after demand for US dollars ballooned amid suspicions that some of the cash was being smuggled to Iran and Syria.
In August, the US president Barack Obama banned Elaf Bank, based in Baghdad, from any dealings with the US banking system for allegedly functioning as a conduit to Iran.
Demand for dollars in the central bank's weekly currency auction doubled to US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) from November to April, putting pressure on the nation's foreign reserves of about $60bn.
"The currency has returned to stability, but there needs to be more inquiries to see whether certain changes need to be done," said Mr Al Abadi.
Mr Al Shabibi was governor of the Iraq central bank since 2003. Before the Iraq War, he spent time in Geneva as a senior economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
The central bank has until now been free from government interference and has been one of the most stable institutions in Iraq since the war ended.
Iyad Allawi, the leader of the opposition Iraqiya bloc, said the independence of the bank, which was necessary to maintain the exchange rate and prevent inflation, was threatened by the move against Mr Al Shabibi.
Magda Al Tamimi, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, agreed.
"The decision to issue a warrant for arrest against Sinan Al Shabibi and a number of officials at the central bank, was planned and ordered from some political forces," said Ms Al Tamimi.
"It is a political decision and not professional. Although we recognise the existence of some corruption cases in the bank, we are not happy and have reservations about this method, because of its impact on Iraq's reputation and the national economy."
_______________________________________________________
RECAP
Dr Shabibi has been removed as Head of the Central Bank - 4-16 others that were underneath him have been removed and Maliki has taken over the Central Bank and put in his candidate Turki to take over in this situation - What they basically have done is merge the Central Bank with the Executive Branch and have brought monetary policy into the Council of Ministers - They have done this without regards to the Constitution - this is a battle that has gone over for over a year - this is where we sit at this particlular point in time....(Recap follows with a RoundTable Discussion with Straight Talkin Mike & LJ - Listen to the recording)
Mike reads the following article which sums up what happened today.....from the outside looking in
Iraq Names New Central Bank Chief (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
10/16/2012
The Iraqi government abruptly announced the appointment of a new central bank chief to replace Sinan al-Shabibi, a respected and politically independent technocrat who has held the position for more than nine years.
Mr. Shabibi, who is currently out of the country, and more than a dozen other officials at the institution are being investigated for alleged improprieties involving capital requirements for local banks and foreign-currency auctions overseen by the central bank, said a government spokesman and a member of the parliamentary committee probing the charges.
The government spokesman Ali al-Mussawi said the council of ministers on Tuesday named Abdul-Baset Turki, the head of the Supreme Audit Board, as an interim central bank governor after a court ruling ordered the removal of Mr. Shabibi from his post to face the charges. A spokesman for Iraq’s judiciary couldn’t be reached for comment and several attempts to contact Mr. Shabibi by telephone were unsuccessful.
The manner of Mr. Shabibi’s dismissal was viewed by many as another move by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to consolidate his powers. Mr. Maliki, who already controls the country’s military and security forces, has been consistently accused by his political opponents of laying the foundations for a new dictatorship in Iraq. He has sparred on several occasions in the past with Mr. Shabibi over the limits and scope of the central bank’s independence. Under the current Iraqi constitution the central bank is one of four “financially and administratively independent institutions” regulated by law.
“This is another sign that things are not going in the right direction and that politics is affecting everything,” said Mahmoud Othman, a senior parliament member from the Kurdish bloc.
Bassem Antoine, an Iraqi economist, said the ouster of Mr. Shabibi was motivated by Mr. Maliki’s desire to exercise more control over the bank’s reserves, estimated to reach $63 billion this year.
“This is bad for Iraq’s reputation,” Mr. Antoine said.
But Haitham al-Jubouri, a lawmaker from Mr. Maliki’s coalition and member of the committee that has been investigating the central bank’s activities for months, defended the move.
Mr. Jubouri said his committee was troubled by the central bank’s contradictory and inconsistent rulings regarding capital requirements for local financial institutions. The committee also uncovered alleged fraud and money laundering in the central bank’s auctions to sell foreign currency to Iraqi importers, according to Mr. Jubouri. He said in the first eight months of 2012 the bank sold nearly $27 billion in hard currency for import purposes, but only $4.5 billion in products actually came into the country during the same period.
The Iraqi dinar, which currently trades at around 1,200 to the dollar, fell as low as 1,280 earlier this year amid allegations that neighboring Iran and Syria, both subject to international sanctions that restrict their access to hard currency, were using local fronts to participate in the Iraqi central bank’s auctions.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal at the end of May, Mr. Shabibi said he was facing difficulties launching a redenomination of the Iraqi dinar due to government objections.
“There were some reservations by some colleagues and the council of ministers said that we should hold off,” said at the time the soft-spoken Mr. Shabibi, who hails from a prominent Baghdadi Shiite merchant family.
He became central bank chief shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Previously he worked for 21 years as senior economist with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Source: Wall Street Journal
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION BETWEEN Straight Talkin Mike and LJ follows.......Listen to the recording
And there you have it...
Straight Talkin' Mike On The Straight Talk Express Bringing You Another Night of Positive News!
The I.Q.D. Team's News Coverage
for Tuesday, October 16, 2012
CBI / ECONOMY
******* FLASHBACK *******APRIL 2012
Urgent .. "Twilight News" reveal and limit the policy document "central" However, Prime Minister al-Saadi is expected dismissal Shabibi
============================================================================
Sources in the Central Bank: Shabibi holds a document signed by al-Maliki to protect the corrupt
Magda Tamimi suspend its membership and Shabibi threatening all of a judicial trial and accused him of central bank adviser still inside his house were arrested
Member of the parliamentary Finance reveal four candidates for the position of Governor of the Central Bank
Iraq cabinet names interim central bank governor: spokesman
Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate after the dismissal of Shabibi
Fears of a new volatility may occur to the dollar exchange rate
Iraq Dismisses Central Bank Chief Amid Investigation
Iraq central bank chief sacked and sought for arrest in currency dispute
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES OF INTEREST NOT READ:
Iraq is one of the central bank files
Central Bank last card of fairness in Iraq
Postpone the deletion of zeros to the project after 2014
Sari: the issue of the sale of foreign currency auction is sufficient to condemn the Central Bank
Iraqi Cabinet removes central bank head amid allegations of financial wrongdoing
Iraq suspends central bank governor in forex probe
Appointment of Abdul Basit Turki central bank governor
Iraqi Integrity Commission is investigating the Central Bank's special file
Chairman of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee: actions against the President of the Central Bank "urgent" and perhaps their political goals
Member of the Finance Committee: issuing an arrest warrant against the central bank governor would hurt the Iraqi economy and the financial system
NEWS ARTICLE LINKS
What a great night of news, analysis and discussion - Listen to the call for all the rest of the news shared
We are getting closer every day......GET R DONE!!
Conference Call Replay - Oct 16, 2012
Download/Playback
or
760-569-7699 Pin 769478#
As Always.... Discussion and Analysis of the Latest Iraq, Dinar & RV News....Pre & Post RV Information...Q & A
Every Tues & Thurs 8PM EST
760-569-7676 769478# or 712222#
Investigate, Question & Deliver
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Highlights/Summary & Replay of Conference Call
Theme: Central Bank Iraq & Shabibi
Conference Call Replay - Oct 16, 2012
Download/Playback
or
760-569-7699 Pin 769478#
Recap of the News tonight
(Listen to the recording for all of the detailed analysis)
CBI / ECONOMY
Straight Talkin Mike takes us from the past to the present with the CBI with a Flashback from April 2012
RECAP CBI/ECONOMY
There has been a significant development in Iraq which directly affects the dinar that we’re all involved in. This is a fairly important conversation that we’re going to have and we’re going to tell you what’s going on. These are the facts as we know them at this point in time… this whole situation is developing and we can tell you what we know up to this point… it’s fairly significant and we’re not sure what the ramifications are… We beat that around for hours on the phone today, the good, bad and ugly so that we can come and put out to you some of the things that we kind-a have an idea of where it’s at and where it’s going… There are a lot of players; a lot of pieces on the board that have recently moved in that significantly affect this on the world stage as well as what’s going on.
Quick synopsis to bring everybody up-to-date to let everybody know where we’re at and what’s going on, talk about the events… There’s a lot of articles we have that are out there to significantly show what’s happened and to what we know up to this point in time to be what’s going on and that we’ve been able to corroborate through other sources.
We’re going to flashback to January of the beginning of the year where things were getting good and everybody was all happy and excited thinking that maybe they were going to revalue at that time… This is the first time that we pretty much have seen Maliki try to make an attempt to take over the CBI… He wanted to remove Dr. Shabibi and put his own people in there… At that time he was complaining about the $62 Billion dollars they had in reserves stating it should be Iraq’s and blah blah blah… Well what he did at that particular point in time is that he went to the courts and he was able to get 1 judge to tell him that the CBI was not an independent body and that the Council of Ministers had the power over the CBI… Well Dr. Shabibi was also able to go to the courts at that particular time and was able to get a ruling saying that they were independent and that they didn’t newt anything… So we’re going to flashback and read the Twilight News article from about April… This is what was in the news in April:
“Urgent .. "Twilight News" reveal and limit the policy document "central" However, Prime Minister al-Saadi is expected dismissal Shabibi” ---> LINK TO ARTICLE
LJ shares a news article he just received..
Iraq central bank chief sacked and sought for arrest in currency dispute
Hadeel Al Sayegh Oct 17, 2012
Iraq's cabinet yesterday named a replacement for the central bank governor, Sinan Al Shabibi, after he was suspended for alleged financial impropriety.
Parliament voted to replace Mr Al Shabibi following an investigation by a special parliamentary committee into possible manipulation of the country's currency against the US dollar by the central bank.
"The cabinet decided to authorise Abdelbasset Turki, the head of the board of supreme audit, to run the central bank indefinitely," said Ali Al Moussawi, the prime minister's spokesperson.
"The parliament today made a unanimous decision to vote for Abdelbasset, who is already handling many financial governmental decisions including the country's fiscal budget," Mr Al Moussawi said. "Subsequently, a decision was made to remove powers from Mr Al Shabibi as central bank governor."
The chairman of the parliamentary integrity committee, Baha Al Araji, said its investigation was "not about money, but about procedures that led to the weakening of the dinar against the dollar".
Arrest warrants have been issued for 30 people, including Mr Al Shabibi and his deputy, Mudher Saleh, said Haider Al Abadi, a member of the investigating committee and the chairman of the parliamentary finance committee.
He said officials were trying to establish whether the actions of the officials were a reckless oversight or intentional.
"There was a huge pressure on the currency, with the difference between buying and selling increasing in the local market, affecting the mass public," said Mr Al Abadi.
Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog confirmed yesterday that it had launched an inquiry into the bank after it received the investigation report from the parliament.
In April, the central bank introduced new regulations to govern currency auctions after demand for US dollars ballooned amid suspicions that some of the cash was being smuggled to Iran and Syria.
In August, the US president Barack Obama banned Elaf Bank, based in Baghdad, from any dealings with the US banking system for allegedly functioning as a conduit to Iran.
Demand for dollars in the central bank's weekly currency auction doubled to US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) from November to April, putting pressure on the nation's foreign reserves of about $60bn.
"The currency has returned to stability, but there needs to be more inquiries to see whether certain changes need to be done," said Mr Al Abadi.
Mr Al Shabibi was governor of the Iraq central bank since 2003. Before the Iraq War, he spent time in Geneva as a senior economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
The central bank has until now been free from government interference and has been one of the most stable institutions in Iraq since the war ended.
Iyad Allawi, the leader of the opposition Iraqiya bloc, said the independence of the bank, which was necessary to maintain the exchange rate and prevent inflation, was threatened by the move against Mr Al Shabibi.
Magda Al Tamimi, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, agreed.
"The decision to issue a warrant for arrest against Sinan Al Shabibi and a number of officials at the central bank, was planned and ordered from some political forces," said Ms Al Tamimi.
"It is a political decision and not professional. Although we recognise the existence of some corruption cases in the bank, we are not happy and have reservations about this method, because of its impact on Iraq's reputation and the national economy."
_______________________________________________________
RECAP
Dr Shabibi has been removed as Head of the Central Bank - 4-16 others that were underneath him have been removed and Maliki has taken over the Central Bank and put in his candidate Turki to take over in this situation - What they basically have done is merge the Central Bank with the Executive Branch and have brought monetary policy into the Council of Ministers - They have done this without regards to the Constitution - this is a battle that has gone over for over a year - this is where we sit at this particlular point in time....(Recap follows with a RoundTable Discussion with Straight Talkin Mike & LJ - Listen to the recording)
Mike reads the following article which sums up what happened today.....from the outside looking in
Iraq Names New Central Bank Chief (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
10/16/2012
The Iraqi government abruptly announced the appointment of a new central bank chief to replace Sinan al-Shabibi, a respected and politically independent technocrat who has held the position for more than nine years.
Mr. Shabibi, who is currently out of the country, and more than a dozen other officials at the institution are being investigated for alleged improprieties involving capital requirements for local banks and foreign-currency auctions overseen by the central bank, said a government spokesman and a member of the parliamentary committee probing the charges.
The government spokesman Ali al-Mussawi said the council of ministers on Tuesday named Abdul-Baset Turki, the head of the Supreme Audit Board, as an interim central bank governor after a court ruling ordered the removal of Mr. Shabibi from his post to face the charges. A spokesman for Iraq’s judiciary couldn’t be reached for comment and several attempts to contact Mr. Shabibi by telephone were unsuccessful.
The manner of Mr. Shabibi’s dismissal was viewed by many as another move by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to consolidate his powers. Mr. Maliki, who already controls the country’s military and security forces, has been consistently accused by his political opponents of laying the foundations for a new dictatorship in Iraq. He has sparred on several occasions in the past with Mr. Shabibi over the limits and scope of the central bank’s independence. Under the current Iraqi constitution the central bank is one of four “financially and administratively independent institutions” regulated by law.
“This is another sign that things are not going in the right direction and that politics is affecting everything,” said Mahmoud Othman, a senior parliament member from the Kurdish bloc.
Bassem Antoine, an Iraqi economist, said the ouster of Mr. Shabibi was motivated by Mr. Maliki’s desire to exercise more control over the bank’s reserves, estimated to reach $63 billion this year.
“This is bad for Iraq’s reputation,” Mr. Antoine said.
But Haitham al-Jubouri, a lawmaker from Mr. Maliki’s coalition and member of the committee that has been investigating the central bank’s activities for months, defended the move.
Mr. Jubouri said his committee was troubled by the central bank’s contradictory and inconsistent rulings regarding capital requirements for local financial institutions. The committee also uncovered alleged fraud and money laundering in the central bank’s auctions to sell foreign currency to Iraqi importers, according to Mr. Jubouri. He said in the first eight months of 2012 the bank sold nearly $27 billion in hard currency for import purposes, but only $4.5 billion in products actually came into the country during the same period.
The Iraqi dinar, which currently trades at around 1,200 to the dollar, fell as low as 1,280 earlier this year amid allegations that neighboring Iran and Syria, both subject to international sanctions that restrict their access to hard currency, were using local fronts to participate in the Iraqi central bank’s auctions.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal at the end of May, Mr. Shabibi said he was facing difficulties launching a redenomination of the Iraqi dinar due to government objections.
“There were some reservations by some colleagues and the council of ministers said that we should hold off,” said at the time the soft-spoken Mr. Shabibi, who hails from a prominent Baghdadi Shiite merchant family.
He became central bank chief shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Previously he worked for 21 years as senior economist with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Source: Wall Street Journal
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION BETWEEN Straight Talkin Mike and LJ follows.......Listen to the recording
And there you have it...
Straight Talkin' Mike On The Straight Talk Express Bringing You Another Night of Positive News!
The I.Q.D. Team's News Coverage
for Tuesday, October 16, 2012
CBI / ECONOMY
******* FLASHBACK *******APRIL 2012
Urgent .. "Twilight News" reveal and limit the policy document "central" However, Prime Minister al-Saadi is expected dismissal Shabibi
============================================================================
Sources in the Central Bank: Shabibi holds a document signed by al-Maliki to protect the corrupt
Magda Tamimi suspend its membership and Shabibi threatening all of a judicial trial and accused him of central bank adviser still inside his house were arrested
Member of the parliamentary Finance reveal four candidates for the position of Governor of the Central Bank
Iraq cabinet names interim central bank governor: spokesman
Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate after the dismissal of Shabibi
Fears of a new volatility may occur to the dollar exchange rate
Iraq Dismisses Central Bank Chief Amid Investigation
Iraq central bank chief sacked and sought for arrest in currency dispute
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES OF INTEREST NOT READ:
Iraq is one of the central bank files
Central Bank last card of fairness in Iraq
Postpone the deletion of zeros to the project after 2014
Sari: the issue of the sale of foreign currency auction is sufficient to condemn the Central Bank
Iraqi Cabinet removes central bank head amid allegations of financial wrongdoing
Iraq suspends central bank governor in forex probe
Appointment of Abdul Basit Turki central bank governor
Iraqi Integrity Commission is investigating the Central Bank's special file
Chairman of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee: actions against the President of the Central Bank "urgent" and perhaps their political goals
Member of the Finance Committee: issuing an arrest warrant against the central bank governor would hurt the Iraqi economy and the financial system
NEWS ARTICLE LINKS
What a great night of news, analysis and discussion - Listen to the call for all the rest of the news shared
We are getting closer every day......GET R DONE!!
Conference Call Replay - Oct 16, 2012
Download/Playback
or
760-569-7699 Pin 769478#
As Always.... Discussion and Analysis of the Latest Iraq, Dinar & RV News....Pre & Post RV Information...Q & A
Every Tues & Thurs 8PM EST
760-569-7676 769478# or 712222#