American taxpayers’ money is ending up in the hands of the Taliban, according to a US government watchdog, which found that bundles of cash flown to Afghanistan by the United Nations are making their way to the country’s central bank.
The latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction shows that the UN has provided more than $2.9 billion in cash since the extremist group took power in 2021.
The money, most of which comes from the US, is deposited in private banks for humanitarian organizations and their lifesaving work.
But some of the money, the report concludes, flows through the central bank, which is controlled by the Taliban.
“Most of the money that goes through the U.N. in cash ultimately comes from American taxpayers,” said John Sopko, the inspector general. ProPublica.
Photos shared by Afghanistan’s central bank show bundles of dollars entering the country before being transferred by the United Nations to a private bank.
Taliban gunman captured the capital Kabul in August 2021. Fighters celebrate the one-year anniversary here during a national holiday
‘It goes to a terrorist group. The Taliban are a bunch of terrorists.”
The report is the first in-depth look at how American money enters Afghanistan via aid flights and what happens to it afterwards.
The US and other foreign donors have scaled back aid after the collapse of the internationally backed government in 2021, fearing the Taliban would use the money for their own purposes.
Yet the report shows how difficult it is to deliver humanitarian aid to areas under the control of sanctioned governments or terrorist groups.
In its response to the report, the State Department said: “We take our duty as stewards of American taxpayers’ money seriously and hold our implementing partners to the highest standards to ensure that U.S. relief funds are spent wisely, effectively, and for the benefit of the public.” intended purposes are used. .
“Any interference with or diversion from U.S. government support is unacceptable.”
The Taliban took control of the country in August 2021 as US forces and their international partners left.
The speed of the takeover caught the Pentagon and intelligence community by surprise, prompting government agencies and the United Nations to scramble to ensure the Taliban could not benefit from aid programs.
This year, the UN estimates that 23.7 million people will need aid, a legacy of decades of war.
You see the money coming here in bales of hundred dollar bills
This was part of a $40 million package delivered in November 2022
The US remains the largest donor, providing approximately $2.6 billion to the UN, other international organizations or charities since the Taliban took over.
During that time, the report found, the UN purchased and transported $2.9 billion in cash to Afghanistan.
The problem is that donors “make contributions to joint UN accounts, which prevents humanitarian aid expenditures – including the purchase and transport of cash to Afghanistan – from being linked to a specific donor’s contribution,” the report continues.
In the absence of reliable electronic transfer systems, there is only one practical way to get the money into the country.
Photos published by Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), Afghanistan’s central bank, show bales of $100 bills entering the country via UN flights.
John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, delved into how UN money enters Afghanistan and traced it to the country’s central bank
From there they are deposited in a private bank. Some of the money is then converted into local currency, Afghans, for local aid organizations.
‘Despite the UN’s statements that it does not provide cash to the Taliban or the Taliban-controlled DAB, when the UN’s private Afghan bank does not have access to sufficient Afghans to meet UN local requirements currency, via DAB on behalf of the UN and with the knowledge of the UN,” the report concludes.
“This means that some of the US dollars that the UN buys and transports to Afghanistan ends up in the hands of the Taliban through the currency exchange process with DAB.”
Lawmakers said that wasn’t good enough.
“This is unacceptable,” Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, told ProPublica. “The U.S. government must work harder to prevent the Taliban from receiving humanitarian aid.”