Afghan President Hamid Karzai was not aware that a major bank now mired in scandal had contributed millions of dollars to his re-election campaign, a spokesman said on Thursday.
A foreign-funded inquiry on Wednesday reported on how a USD 900 million fraud ruined the Kabul Bank, how cash was smuggled abroad in airline food trays, and said top politicians dictated who should be prosecuted over the theft. The inquiry did not name Karzai, but hinted that the president himself benefited, saying the bank had ‘reportedly provided millions of dollars to the campaign of at least one presidential candidate’ against central bank advice.
Kabul Bank was reported to have been a major donor to Karzai's 2009 re-election campaign, which was itself tainted by fraud and voting irregularities.
‘The president is not aware (of the payments to his campaign),’ presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said.
‘He learnt of claims that USD 20 million was paid to his campaign. This is a lot of money. We will investigate this.’ The president had specifically told the chairman and CEO of the bank in a meeting at his office that if they were asked to contribute to his campaign they should refuse, Faizi said.
The country's biggest scandal in years has also touched a brother of Karzai and a brother of Vice President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who were shareholders in the bank. They have not been charged.
The investigation into the fraud and the prosecution of 22 people allegedly involved is being watched closely by Western donors for signs that Afghanistan is finally tackling rampant government corruption. Donors have pledged billions of dollars in aid after NATO combat troops withdraw from insurgency-racked Afghanistan in 2014, but have made payment conditional on corruption being brought under control.
A foreign-funded inquiry on Wednesday reported on how a USD 900 million fraud ruined the Kabul Bank, how cash was smuggled abroad in airline food trays, and said top politicians dictated who should be prosecuted over the theft. The inquiry did not name Karzai, but hinted that the president himself benefited, saying the bank had ‘reportedly provided millions of dollars to the campaign of at least one presidential candidate’ against central bank advice.
Kabul Bank was reported to have been a major donor to Karzai's 2009 re-election campaign, which was itself tainted by fraud and voting irregularities.
‘The president is not aware (of the payments to his campaign),’ presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said.
‘He learnt of claims that USD 20 million was paid to his campaign. This is a lot of money. We will investigate this.’ The president had specifically told the chairman and CEO of the bank in a meeting at his office that if they were asked to contribute to his campaign they should refuse, Faizi said.
The country's biggest scandal in years has also touched a brother of Karzai and a brother of Vice President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who were shareholders in the bank. They have not been charged.
The investigation into the fraud and the prosecution of 22 people allegedly involved is being watched closely by Western donors for signs that Afghanistan is finally tackling rampant government corruption. Donors have pledged billions of dollars in aid after NATO combat troops withdraw from insurgency-racked Afghanistan in 2014, but have made payment conditional on corruption being brought under control.