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SDNY COURTHOUSE, April 17 – Before the International Monetary Fund's February 13 embargoed briefing, Inner City Press asked the IMF to confirm or deny something in the crypto-currency media, that "IMF ADVISES EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES TO TRIAL DIGITAL CURRENCY." See below.

 Now on April 17 amid the Coronavirus crisis on Haiti the IMF has announced, "The IMF Executive Board approves the twentieth request for emergency financial assistance to help its member countries address the challenges posed by COVID-19.  · The approval of the Board will make available US$111.6 million in emergency financing to help Haiti address the challenges posed by COVID-19.  · IMF financing support provides resources to the authorities for essential health-related expenditures and income support to ease the impact of COVID-19 on the population.  · To address the pandemic, Haiti’s government announced measures to support workers and households, including paying salaries and providing food and cash transfers to the public.     Washington, DC – April 17, 2020 The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a disbursement to Haiti under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) equivalent to SDR 81.9 million (US$111.6 million, 50 percent of quota) to help cover balance of payment needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The pandemic has worsened an already weak economic outlook for Haiti. An expected sharp drop in remittance flows, reduction in textile exports, and drop in FDI will put significant strain on the balance of payments. Additional direct health and social expenditures, together with a further drop in fiscal revenues will add to the fiscal deficit and financing needs. IMF support will help cover some of this need and allow the government to ease the impact on the population, such as paying salaries of some teachers and workers, providing cash transfers and food rations to households, and providing subsidies to the transport and sanitation sectors." More than the UN of Antonio Guterres, paying not a penny after the UN killing 10,000 with cholera (and now spreading COVID-19 in South Sudan with a UN bus with no social distancing).

   On April 15 to the IMF and World Bank's Annual Meetings Inner City Press posed these questions, after it got an IMF answer on Morocco, here: "On the IMF's CCRT debt service relief, please explain why Tanzania is not among the 19 African countries on the list. Also, please comment on public reports Kenya is not on because over-income, and the Zambia is off due to "corruption" issues. What about Cameroon's Paul Biya, not seen in public for weeks? Does the IMF have a view on how countries should address their prison systems as the Coronavirus spreads in them?"

  The Director of the IMF's Africa Department Abebe Aemro Selassie replied, diplomatically as ever, that thirty two countries have made requests, and that the IMF envisions $11.5 billion, with an initial focus on the poorest 25 or so, more if more money comes in, citing the UK and Japan and the IMF's speed on Madagascar. More to follow.

  The other issues were not addressed, nor have some of Inner City Press' other pending questions been answered. But we remain hopeful.

 For now, the IMF has said, "the countries that will receive debt service relief today are: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen."

Inner City Press covers not only the IMF but also all things crypto in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for example SEC v. Telegram and the prosecution of Virgil Griffith formerly of Ethereum.   Inner City Press asked the IMF, "It is reported that to the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, the IMF suggests to experiment with a common digital currency, on a blockchain. Can you elaborate?"  

 While IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice during the briefing answered Inner City Press' Somalia and Egypt questions, it was afterward that this answer arrived by e-mail, "attributable to Gerry Rice, IMF Spokesman and Director of Communications:    

'The IMF did not suggest to experiment with a common digital currency. In March 2019, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) launched a central bank digital currency pilot project, using blockchain technology, on its own initiative.

  As noted in the IMF Concluding Statement of the 2019 discussion on the common policies of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) member countries, the digital currency could expose the ECCB and the financial system to various risks, including for financial intermediation, financial integrity, and cybersecurity. Given these risks of the digital currency, the IMF stressed that the ongoing pilot project should proceed cautiously.”   

So there. (A OneCoin / Bulgaria question remains outstanding). We appreciate the IMF's answer. Watch this site, for IMF news and... all things crypto, good, bad and ugly.

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