Qatar Central Bank

The Qatar Central Bank (Arabic: مصرف قطر المركزي‎) is the central bank of Qatar. The Qatar Central Bank was originally until 1993 known as the Qatar Monetary Agency (and was known before that as Qatar Dubai Currency Board), founded on May 13, 1973 after Dubai joined the United Arab Emirates and disengaged itself from British monetary policy which the area had previously followed. The Qatar Monetary Agency assumed the duties of a central bank. In 1973, Amiri Decree No. 24 authorized the issuance of the Qatari Riyal (QR).

Over its history the Qatar Central Bank has increasingly worked in association with other, larger central banks to achieve a stable currency for the country, most recently and notably with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Objectives

Article no. 5 of the Law of the Qatar Central Bank and the Regulation of financial Institutions issued by Law no. 13 of 2012 states the central bank’s objectives for Qatar’s economic policy:^[7]

Preserve money value and assure monetary stability.
Act as a regulatory, control and supervisory higher authority for all the services, business, markets and financial activities inside or though the state of Qatar in accordance with the best international standards and practices.
Establish a stable, transparent, competitive and governance sector for carrying out services, business, markets and financial activities based on market rules.
Reinforce public confidence in Qatar as a pioneering global hub for services, business, markets and financial activities.
Ensure consistent development of services, markets and financial activities sector in line with the objectives of economic and comprehensive development in Qatar.

In addition, the Qatar Central Bank serves the primary roles of many central banks. These roles are stated in Article no. 6, 7, and 8 of Law no. 13 and include (among others) the following duties:^[7]

Stability of QR exchange rate and its capacity of being exchanged for other currencies.
Cash issuance and regulation of its circulation.
Act as a bank for all the banks and financial institutions in Qatar.
Financial and Banking stability.
Administer and invest its money and reserves.
Lay out regulations, instructions and guidance on governance, transparency and sound management in all financial institutions under QCB’s supervision.

Leadership

The Board of Directors of the Qatar Central Bank is composed of seven members. The Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors is H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Saoud Al-Thani. The Deputy Governor and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors is H.E. Sheikh Fahad Faisal Al-Thani. H.E. Dr. Saleh M. Al-Nabit, H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim, and Mr. Nasser Ahmed Al-Shaibi are members of the Board of Directors. H.E. Mr. Khalaf Ahmad Almanai is the Representative of the Ministry of Finance and H.E. Mr. Sultan Rashid Al-Khater is the Representative of the Ministry of Economy and Trade.

Governors

Majid Muhammad Majid al-Saad, ? – 1983 – January 1990
Abdullah bin Khalid al-Attiyah, January 1990 – May 2006
Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani, May 2006 –

Controversy

A former employee of the Qatar Central Bank, Khalifa Muhammad Turki al-Subaiy, is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of State described Al-Subaiy as a “Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator” for working with al-Qaeda senior leadership, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed described as “the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks” in the 9/11 Commission Report. Al-Subaiy provided financial assistance to senior al-Qaeda members in Pakistan and helped extremists reach al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan

In 2008, the Bahrain High Criminal Court convicted al-Subaiy in absentia for charges of financing terrorism. In March 2008, al-Subaiy was arrested in Qatar but released after six months in September 2009

In a 2014 Department of Treasury designation of foreign terrorist fighter facilitators, al-Subaiy was described as working with two al-Qaeda financial facilitators in order to transfer “hundreds of thousands of dollars” and “tens of thousands of dollars” to al-Qaeda and the Al-Nusra Front.

According to a November 2014 report by the Telegraph, al-Subaiy is living freely in Doha