Questioner: Muhsin Nourbakhsh (head of the Central Bank of Iran)
[Sacred presence of the Leader of the Revolution and Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His Holiness Grand Ayatullah Imam Khomeini- may his sublime presence endure,
Following the directive of Your Eminence regarding the cancellation of the laws that are contrary to Islam and the studies undertaken for this purpose by the Central Bank to replace them with the new laws that are not in conflict with the sacred tenets of Islam; because of uncertainty concerning the ownership of the government of the foreign exchange obtained from the sale of crude. Thus, I request the eminent presence of the Source of Emulation to provide the answer to the following question:
Question: Does the foreign exchange derived from the sale of oil that has been produced by the government and is sold with the expenditures and investment of the government belong to the government and is it in its ownership or not?
Muhsin Nourbakhsh]
In His Most Exalted Name
It belongs to the government and is in the ownership of the Islamic government. It must be used for the administration of the country and for the benefit of the nation.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini
9/8/1361 AHS