Visitors Now:
Total Visits:
Total Stories:
Profile image
By Sound Money Project
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views

Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

Are Turkey and Iran Showing the Way…

Monday, November 26, 2012 21:12
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

…That the World Will Adopt a Gold Standard by Necessity?
Turkey Swaps Gold for Iranian Gas
Loophole in Western Sanctions Allows Iran to Buy Gold in Turkey With Turkish Payments for Gas Imported From Iran

By JOE PARKINSON and EMRE PEKER

ISTANBUL—Turkey on Friday acknowledged that a surge in its gold exports this year is related to payments for imports of Iranian natural gas, shedding light on Ankara’s role in breaching U.S.-led sanctions against Tehran.

The continuing trade deal offers the most striking example of how Iran is using creative ways to sidestep Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, which have largely frozen it out of the global banking system.

The disclosure was made by Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister and top economic policy maker Ali Babacan in answers to questions from the parliamentary budget committee.

Iran provides 18% of Turkey’s natural gas and 51% of its oil. But since U.S. and European Union sanctions ban Tehran from receiving payments in dollars or euros, Ankara pays Iran for the gas in Turkish liras. The lira is of limited value for buying goods on international markets but ideal for purchasing Turkish gold. The government hasn’t specified how it pays for Iranian oil.

“In essence, gold exports [to Iran] end up like payments for our natural gas purchases,” Mr. Babacan said. “Turkey is depositing the payment for the gas we purchase from Iran to Iran’s account in Turkey…I don’t know exactly how they then transfer it,” he said.

The identity of the final destination of the gold in Iran isn’t known, but the scale of the operation and its dramatic expansion suggest the Iranian government plays a key role, analysts say. …

Continue reading at WSJ.com…

image:

Share on FacebookShare on Facebook

2012-11-26 20:42:50

Source: http://www.soundmoneyproject.org/?p=8752



Source:

Report abuse

Comments

Your Comments
Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

Top Stories
Recent Stories

Register

Newsletter

Email this story
Email this story

If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.