The Customs Authority said, in a statement, that the money was found in the possession of a traveler at the Kirkuk Airport customs center, during inspection procedures in the departure hall, in violation of the instructions of the Central Bank of Iraq.
The operation comes amid ongoing Iraqi measures to combat currency smuggling and exploiting the gap between the official exchange rate and the price traded in the parallel market.
For years, individuals and companies have exploited this difference by using bank payment cards to exchange the Iraqi dinar for the dollar abroad according to the official rate of the Central Bank, which is 1,320 dinars to the dollar, and then reselling the dollar on the black market inside Iraq to make profits.
The exchange rate in the parallel market is currently about 1,530 dinars to the dollar.
In October, the Central Bank of Iraq issued new measures to confront foreign currency smuggling and money laundering, including requiring businessmen to submit detailed receipts for purchases made abroad before transferring money outside Iraq.
The Customs Authority confirmed that the seizure comes within “strict measures to combat smuggling attempts and protect the national economy,” noting that legal measures will be taken against the suspect.
The Iraqi authorities intensified their efforts to limit money laundering and smuggling, after the US Treasury Department announced in October the imposition of sanctions on 3 Iraqi bank executives, on charges of laundering money for the benefit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq.
