Shabibi: Maliki seeks to control the cash reserve for Iraq

by IQD4US Sun Nov 11, 2012 1:12 pm

http://www.baghdad-news.com/home.asp?mode=more&NewsID=49035&catID=1

Issue no: 2609 Issue Date: 11/11/2012: Sunday
Last Update: 11/11/2012

Rejected Iraqi Central Bank Governor article Shabibi accusations against him, especially the "mismanagement of funds and failure to work", adding that government authorities have threatened the independence of the Bank in order to reach its reserves.

Shabibi's comments came after weeks of his dismissal was preceded by warnings against him and against other government banks, which diplomats and analysts considered it comes as part of a quest for control of the bank by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has denied his office and standing behind it. Shabibi said in a telephone interview from Geneva with AFP has "were trying to عزلي since 2009, and they want money from reserves" the central bank. "I think that the main problem basically is up, because they think that we have a lot of reserves and they want to use for funding." "The government wants money from the central bank ... and the Central Bank Law does not allow it." He added "confirmation say there are differences in the exchange rate policy. Do not think that these differences require dismissal of the central bank governor." In response to a question the existence of the impact of threats and accusations against him and other officials on the independence of the Bank, Shabibi said "definitely yes." Shabibi refused to name any government official, but noted, "They were talking constantly about they should supervise the monetary policy and they should decide a lot a lot a lot of this policy, and all these things." Analysts described Shabibi (70 years), who stretched his experience of two decades in the United Nations and the governor of the Central Bank since 2003, as a technocrat struggled to maintain the independence of the Central Bank of Iraq. The Iraqi government decided to end October, appointed head of the Office of Financial Supervision Abdel Basset Turkey instead Shabibi, after criticism by the parliamentary Finance Committee relating to mismanaging funds directed to Shabibi and other bankers officials. Shabibi said he planned to return to Iraq to face the charges against him, after the cancellation of the arrest warrant against him, pointing out that the government can not sack him because this thing is still the validity of Parliament. He also rejected Shabibi accusations of currency manipulation and mismanagement, compared to a slight change in the value of the Iraqi dinar against dramatic changes in the value of the dollar or the euro. Shabibi said have "I told them (the government) that the central bank was not the reason for this volatility, this is part of the average ... and we have been successful in eventually achieving stability of the exchange rate, and the difference of 2 or 3 percent." "I told them, just go to Europe now and see the difference" in exchange rates. He added that "they realize the stability of the exchange rate (in recent years) and then used it against the Central Bank. They did not find any errors or problems and they said this is a problem and described the failure of the Central Bank." He said he did not know how long the accusations against him, but added, "Let them wait and see," stressing his confidence in the style of his work. And witnessed the exchange rates of the Iraqi dinar rates roughly stable against the dollar over the past few years, and almost 1,200 dinars to the dollar. In conjunction with the accusations of manipulating the exchange rates of the dinar, raised fears of exploitation auctions held by the Central Bank of Iran and Syria to support its foreign currency reserves, which was denied by the central bank. And taken strict measures during 2012, banks impose a definition for procuring entities of foreign currency