2010/06/26Iraqi currency scams on the rise
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan on Thursday said it had received 59 inquiries and complaints about purchases at inflated rates of the Iraqi dinar nationwide since March, with total purchases worth 120 million yen ($1.34 million).
It warned that dinar exchange is difficult in Japan because few banks deal with the currency. In many of the cases, the dealers who sold the currency soon disappeared.
According to the center, a man in his 70s in western Japan was told the Iraqi currency's value would soar thanks to the country's huge oil reserves. He paid a dealer 12 million yen for 3 million dinars in 25,000-dinar banknotes.
He contacted a consumer center in May after another dealer, who promised to buy his dinar, never showed up, only to find he was one of a growing number of investors complaining about such currency deals. The dinar is actually worth only one-50th of the value he paid. The fixed rate, used for tariff payments, is a little less than 8 yen for 100 dinars.
According to the center, another man, in his 50s, paid 2 million yen for 500,000 dinars; he had been told the currency value will rise 20- to 30-fold "once U.S. troops withdraw."
In most cases, dinars were sold at 50 times the fixed rate. It is also unclear whether the notes were authentic, according to the center.
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