This kind of trade commonly takes place at what is known in the city of Sulaymaniyah’s “dollar market”, where locals go to exchange their Iraqi dinars for US dollars. Locals often use US dollars to make big ticket purchases because, due to exchange rates, one would need to carry suitcases stuffed with dinars to buy anything like a car. A handful of dollars can be substituted instead.
The problem is, the informal nature of these kinds of deals also leaves them open to fraudsters and swindlers.
One of the local currency traders, Yassin Mahmoud – known by locals as Mullah Yassin – confirms that there have been a rising number of incidents recently, where businesspeople have taken money off locals but then have either not been able to pay it back, or have fled the area, taking the cash with them.
Baryar Fakhr-Addin owns a store selling children’s clothing in Sulaymaniyah, and he recently gave US$70,000 to another local man who used to run a currency exchange counter – the plan was to transfer the money to Turkey where Fakhr-Addin often travels, in order to buy more stock for his store.
“This guy was working in the market for more than 20 years,” Fakhr-Addin recounts. “He was very well trusted, to the extent that we did not even ask him for receipts when we gave him cash. But he is now bankrupt. We don’t know what will become of our money,” he laments.
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