The Central Bank of Iraq announced Tuesday (August 8th) that it has set up a special committee in co-operation with government agencies to combat the financing of terrorism.

"We have set up a committee led by the CBI and comprised of representatives of ministries and security and economic agencies, which will act firmly against the financing of terror groups," said Central Bank spokesman Aysar Jabbar.

The committee will receive reports on individuals and organisations involved in supporting terrorism from the bank's Anti Money Laundering Office, security and intelligence agencies, and citizens, he told Diyaruna.

Once verified, reports will be treated as "a crime of terrorism" and the committee will take the necessary measures against the involved party, he said.

Those include freezing their assets and confiscating their properties, he added.

The committee was formed to boost the bank's efforts and those of other institutions in drying up the sources of terrorism and maintaining security after the Iraqi forces’ victories over the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), Jabbar said.

The Central Bank, through its Anti Money Laundering Office, has helped freeze the assets of individuals and money transfer companies convicted of financing terrorism.

"Via the new committee, the bank seeks to work jointly in co-ordination with other state institutions to track and stop militants’ funding sources," Jabbar said.

The bank also is working to revive the economy in areas liberated from ISIS by supporting local economies with loans and advances in order to help residents resume normal life and rebuild their areas, he said.

Jabbar stressed the Central Bank's "important role" in maintaining a stable exchange rate and preventing a devaluation of the Iraqi dinar against foreign currencies as a result of security and economic crises in the country.