ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi authorities said Sunday that security forces have received no orders to intervene in currency trading or influence exchange rates, after a viral video showed an interior ministry hotline operator advising a caller to report exchange officers selling US dollars above a specified rate.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement that, under directive from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, foreign currency exchange rates are a financial and economic matter, falling under the authority of the relevant financial institutions, particularly the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI).
The cell stressed that security forces have not been instructed to interfere in legitimate currency trading, while action against illegal foreign currency transactions must follow established legal procedures and judicial orders, in coordination with the CBI.
The clarification comes amid uncertainty in Iraq’s currency market following last week’s devaluation of the dinar, which raised the official selling rate from 1,320 to 1,520 dinars per US dollars, fueling concerns over rising prices and declining purchasing power.
In the widely circulated video that Rudaw has seen, a caller asks an operator on the interior ministry’s 911 hotline whether exchange offices selling dollars above CBI rates can be reported to authorities.
The operator advises the caller to report any exchange office selling $100 for more than 155,000 dinars, asking him to provide the office’s name, its owner’s name, and its location.
“The staff member's comments were a personal act and do not represent the ministry's official position,” the interior ministry said in its Sunday statement.
It said the employee was not authorized to comment on matters outside his assigned responsibilities and that “necessary legal measures” had been taken against him under applicable regulations.
Iraqi authorities have previously taken action against illegal currency trading. On September 23, the interior ministry announced the arrest of five suspects in Baghdad accused of engaging in unlicensed currency exchange, money transfers, and dollar speculation through social media platforms.
The ministry said the suspects were detained under Article 57 of Iraq’s Banking Law, which criminalizes conducting banking activities without a license. Authorities also confiscated $240,000 and several mobile phones during the operation.
The dollar continued to trade above the official rate on Iraq’s parallel market. On Sunday, exchange offices in Baghdad were selling $100 for 164,000 and above, while the selling rate in Erbil stood at 164,000.
Separately, former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, also part of the ruling Shiite alliance Coordination Framework, on Sunday called for measures to protect citizens from the consequences of the dinar’s devaluation, according to a statement shared on his X account.
On Thursday, the Coordination Framework proposed measures to address the impact of the devaluation, including curbing currency speculation and protecting prices of essential goods, medicines, and construction materials.
Prime Minister Zaidi defended the devaluation before the parliament on Thursday, citing declining oil revenues amid regional tensions and disruptions to exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
