Egyptians Receive a Third of Deferred Iraqi Transfers

Egyptian citizens have received around LE781 million ($130m) representing assets they lost in Iraq due to the Gulf War, the central bank said. This sum, transferred by the Iraqi government to Egypt's banks, represents around a third of the total in so-called "yellow transfers" owed to Egyptian citizens, a statement from the central bank said. Around 620,000 Egyptians are being repaid by Baghdad for bank deposits, property, businesses and other assets they held in Iraq during the run-up to the 1990-91 Gulf War. A deal was finally brokered to return the funds during a visit by the Egyptian foreign minister to Baghdad in early March. A previous report in the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper estimated the combined value of these assets at $804 million, with the possibility of an additional $295 million in interest.

Egyptian banks began the staggered 12-week payment process on 25 March. Large crowds have gathered outside branches over the last fortnight, with some participants complaining of difficulties in obtaining information about dates and times for receiving payments. Citizens are able to withdraw their compensation from branches of the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Bank of Alexandria (BA), National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr (BM).