A German nonprofit working in Afghanistan is being investigated for allegedly failing to pay its Afghan employees.
Afghan prosecutors have opened an official preliminary probe against the Berlin-based Association of Experts in the Fields of Migration and Development Cooperation, or AGEF, which specializes in the repatriation of Afghan refugees.
German employees of the organization have reportedly left its Kabul office, leaving behind a few Afghan employees who are allegedly not receiving pay anymore.
“We know thus far that several Afghan employees of AGEF have reported the company,” said Amanullah Eiman, spokesman for the Afghan attorney general, as quoted by Deutsche Welle. “They say that AGEF isn’t paying any more. The German employees are no longer there.”
AGEF chief Klaus Dünnhaupt has denied the allegations.
“We’ve made clear our opinion that these accusations are not based on truth, but rather that they rely on information aimed at discrediting our company,” Dünnhaupt said.
Danish and Swedish governments suspended their work with AGEF in 2009 due to improper accounting of funding, Deutsche Welle reports. An internal report by the German government has also found that AGEF misspent subsidies paid by the federal government.
