ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Erbil’s local security (Asaiysh) on Thursday night announced the arrest of Twana Saeed, owner of TwanaFX, a ForEx trading company, on charges of “deception of the youth” and promoting ForEx cryptocurrency.
Asaiysh also said in their statement that Saeed had operated an unlicensed company.
“It is worth noting that trading with ForEx is illegal, unregulated, and a factor leading to the public’s money and assets going to waste,” the statement detailed, adding, “We are calling on people to refrain from such business and transactions and protect their wealth."
Saeed is a ForEx trader and entrepreneur and is a prominent player in the Kurdish ForEx space.
Saeed’s arrest came just three days after Erbil’s Asaiysh issued a warning against cryptocurrency and foreign exchange (ForEx) trading, saying both practices are illegal and their promotion forms grounds for legal repercussions.
The Erbil Asaiysh’s decision came as Saeed in an interview showcased his collection of expensive cars, allegedly worth 1.4 million dollars, and promoted the crypto currencies.
Before his arrest, Saeed had told The New Region that “ForEx and cryptocurrency are now in the mobile phones of the majority of Kurdish individuals and they do it, how was it banned? The US and Europe could not control it, how can we?"
He called on the government to "pass legislation and issue a set of conditions so that not everyone can enter and trade, and not everyone can establish a company," suggesting the "presence of a state-affiliated company" whereby they can supervise the process.
Saeed, who says that ForEx trading has made him wealthy, has time and again offered and promoted his courses of navigating and understanding the nuances of the market to the general public.
Engaging and promoting in ForEx and cryptocurrency trading is a global phenomenon, with a huge international market all over the world and a market cap deep into trillions of dollars.
Less than two months before the decision from Asayish, Iraq’s Rafidain Bank in a statement in late February warned clients on using their cards for Forex trading, citing directives from the Iraqi Central Bank.
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