Central Bank Chief Implicitly Confirms 'Suitcase Currency' Exits from Iran

Valiollah Seif, the head of Iran's Central Bank, has implicitly confirmed the 'suitcase currency' exits from the country, stating that 'the Central Bank has responsibilities regarding the market, which it is currently fulfilling.' These remarks were reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Tuesday, February 23. Hours earlier, Elias Naderan, a member of the Parliament's Planning and Budget Commission, reported receiving information about the seizure of 'suitcase currency shipments' at Tehran Airport, stating that this currency was released under the Geneva Agreement. In an oral reminder to the Iranian President during a public session of Parliament, Naderan said, 'We received a report some time ago that in recent months, significant amounts of currency from the Central Bank have been exported through several suitcase shipments, primarily in dirhams, through official channels and with the Central Bank's approval.' According to the Tehran representative in Parliament, one of these shipments was 'seized and returned at Tehran Airport under the orders of the Tehran prosecutor, leading to the formation of a legal case.' Based on the Geneva Agreement between Iran and world powers, the Islamic Republic receives about half a billion dollars monthly from its blocked revenues. The head of the Central Bank has also confirmed that three installments, each worth $490 million, have been deposited into this bank's account so far. Valiollah Seif also commented on a 6,500 billion tomans case, stating that this case 'involves one of the overdue debtors of the banking system, which is currently under judicial review.' He added, 'There has been very good coordination in this regard, and with the appropriate understanding between the officials of the Central Bank and the judiciary, overdue claims are in the process of being collected.' Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, announced on February 17 that several other large financial cases related to Iranian banks have been raised, stating that in one of these cases, an individual took out a loan of 6,500 billion tomans from one of the banks without providing the necessary collateral. According to Larijani, this individual has exported part of the loan money as currency out of the country. The head of the Central Bank explained that 'this case is one of those that received facilities in the past, and in the list provided to the head of the judiciary by the Central Bank, this case was ranked third.'