Some U.S. and Afghan officials are concerned over the USD3 billion in cash that was openly flown out of Afghanistan over the past three years.
The amount, which U.S. investigators said is too large, has sparked speculations that some top Afghan officials, their associates and possibly some U.S. officials in the country are diverting billions of U.S. logistics and aid dollars as well as drug profit money to safe accounts overseas, The Washington Post says.
The movement of cash is legal and declared, but graft and corruption investigators said they are concerned of the relative value of the cash compared to Afghanistan’s economy, which last year posted a gross domestic product of USD13.5 billion.
The origins of the cash are also being investigated.
“Officials believe some of the cash, if not most, is siphoned from Western aid projects and the U.S., European and NATO contracts to provide security, supplies and reconstruction work of coalition forces in Afghanistan,” Washington Post reports.
Profits from the opium trade and money collected through extortion are also believed to be part of the cash flow.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai addressed June 27 the possibility of corruption in the flow of cash out of the country.
“Making money is fine and taking money out of the country is fine. The relatives of government officials can do this, starting with my brothers. But there’s a possibility of corruption,” Karzai said without giving specific details.
