More than $25 billion is being smuggled out through Ibrahim Khalil

Reports 08:41 PM - 2023-02-07

Several border crossings in Erbil and Duhok are used for smuggling dollars.

Through the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, 70 million US dollars are smuggled out of the country every day, $2.1 billion every month, and $25.2 billion every year. A British report claimed that some party officials "smuggle $70 million abroad every day."
 
According to Middle East Eye (MEE), $70 million is exported from the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing alone each day. As a result, $25.2 billion, or $2.1 billion per month, is illegally exported from the country each year, despite the fact that there are multiple official and unofficial border crossings in the provinces of Erbil and Duhok. read more
 
Ibrahim Khalil is a border crossing between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey that was built on the Khapoor River Bridge and is located in the Zakho region of Duhok.

Iraq's dollars are likely taken abroad

 
"The issue of exporting dollars out of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq to other countries is not a new issue and has a history, but the impacts are more visible now," said Narmin Maruf, a member of the Finance Committee in the Iraqi parliament.
 
She claims that the exported money belongs to Iraq rather than the Kurdistan Region. "It is the responsibility of the security forces to prevent the export of dollars abroad," said Maruf.
 
"The practice of smuggling dollars by land from the Kurdistan Region and the Ibrahim Khalil, from where they are sent to Turkey and Dubai, has intensified, and the Iraqi government has installed a number of checkpoints to prevent this," according to the MEE report.
 
MEE further stated that a group of politicians and high-ranking officials in the Kurdistan Region are using Ibrahim Khalil to smuggle dollars into Turkey. Every day, $70 million is smuggled into the country, and for every $10,000, Turkey levies a $5 tax.
 
The report also relied on information from bankers and Iraqi officials and wrote: "The smuggling process has recently increased by land through the Kurdistan Region, from where it is sent to Turkey and Dubai." "To prevent this, the Iraqi government has erected several new checkpoints equipped with sonar devices along the road from Baghdad to Kurdistan."
 

Dollars have been smuggled for many years

PUKMEDIA conducted an investigation through several currency offices in Erbil and Duhok and discovered that powerful people are responsible for the long-running dollar smuggling.

S.M., the proprietor of one of the currency exchange businesses in Erbil's dollar market, spoke with PUKMEDIA on the condition of anonymity for his personal safety and the sake of his job, and he stated: "The gates of Erbil and Duhok have been used to export dollars since many years ago." "It is smuggled out in various ways and acquired through businesses and other influential people."

He continued, "The entire dollar market is aware that there are powerful authorities conducting significant business transactions through private brokers."
 
"Despite rising prices, remittances have climbed by 50% in the last week." According to the sources, $1 million will cost roughly $15,000 to transmit.

Larger sums of money are smuggled

Several other border crossings, both official and unofficial, in Erbil and Duhok are also used for trade and smuggling. As a result, the amount taken out is significantly higher. If $70 million is exported daily via Ibrahim Khalil alone, how much money would pass through the other border crossings?

Economist Bahjat Ahmad told PUKMEDIA: "The Ibrahim Khalil border crossing is occupied by only one party, and neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Iraqi government is aware of the exports and imports of the border crossing, so in my opinion, much more money goes out of the border crossing."

"There are several unofficial border crossings between the Kurdistan Region and Syria, where dollars are exported; also, 25,000 barrels of crude oil come to the Kurdistan Region daily and are refined and sold," he added.
 

Smuggled dollars are being transferred

The Iraqi government suspended dollar remittances to various countries. However, significant sums of money from the Kurdistan Region are smuggled into Turkey, where they are then transferred to Arab and European nations.

"Dollars are openly transported from this border to Turkey and from there to Dubai every day," a member of the Duhok Currency Exchange Union told PUKMEDIA while declining to be named.

"The Iraqi government has stopped sending dollars to numerous countries, but now businessmen are smuggling dollars from the Kurdistan Region to Turkey and sending them to Arab and European countries," he claimed.

Who is behind the dollar smuggling?

Economists and currency dealers point out in this PUKMEDIA report that dollar exports have been around for a very long time. The magnitude of the dollar smuggling has, however, been linked to well-known and powerful individuals now that the financial repercussions have come to light and the Kurdistan Region's economy has been negatively impacted.

To read the complete report, click here.

PUKMEDIA