ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq is set to remove three zeros from its currency in a bid to rebrand the dinar and support digitizing transactions to combat cash outside the system used for crime and corruption, a lawmaker said Monday.

Jamal Kocher, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament's finance committee, told The New Region that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi “has requested removing zeros from the bills. If this happens, it means that 1,000 dinars will become one dinar, 25,000 dinars will be 25 dinars.”

Earlier in August, Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad confirmed that the decision to remove the zeros and change the currency had been made.

The Central Bank of Iraq, however, has yet to formally announce a timetable for the process.

Iraq added zeros to the dinar when it was heavily sanctioned toward the end of the rule of former dictator Saddam Hussein, Kochar noted, explaining that adding zeros to a currency is an indication that it is degrading.

Asked about Iraq’s rationale for the overhaul, the lawmaker said that some neighbouring countries have taken legitimate Iraqi bills and sent back copied versions, and that smaller amounts, like cents, are needed in the market.

It also aims to curb the use of cash outside the system, which may be used for criminal activities and corruption, he explained.

“Any crime that is committed in the world, whether it is murder, organized crime, money laundering, or trading opium and hashish and those things, is all committed through money that does not go through the banking system,” said Kochar.

“Guarantees may be put in place for those using digital transactions so the currency stays under the government’s control while transparency emerges,” he stressed.

According to the lawmaker, the change will not affect people’s daily lives or purchasing power. Prices will remain fixed while the zeros are removed and smaller amounts are introduced. People may exchange the older version for the new one.

Previously, only France and Germany printed Iraqi dinars, but now the government has also approached the United Kingdom and Australia in a bid to speed up the process.