Screenshot of the report
According to Reuters reported on the 15th, the central bank of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban said that the department on Wednesday seized nearly $12.4 million in cash and gold from senior government officials, including former Vice President Amrullah Saleh.
The central bank said in a statement that the currency and gold had been stored in the homes of officials, but its use was unclear.
Reuters pointed out that saleh's whereabouts are currently unknown. He had previously vowed to remain resistant to the Taliban. Last week, a family member said the Taliban had executed his brother, Rohullah Azizi.
In another statement, the central bank urged Afghans to use their own Afghan currency. At the same time, there are growing concerns that Afghan banks and businesses will face cash shortages, particularly in the widely used dollars.
Taliban members show former Afghan vice president mansion with steam room and indoor garden (Source: Visual China)
Two commercial bankers said there were indications that the Taliban were seeking to recover assets from former government officials. The central bank issued a notice to local banks last week asking them to freeze the accounts of politicians linked to the former government.
The Afghan Hama News Agency said on the 13th that the Afghan Taliban found about $6 million in cash and at least 15 gold bricks in the residence of former Afghan First Vice President Amrula Saleh. Afghan Taliban members also posted a video online that Arab media said showed Taliban members displaying assets found at Saleh's residence.
Speaking to the media in 2019, then-Afghan President Ghani, left, and first vice presidential candidate Saleh, center. (Source: Visual China)
The Taliban also recently led reporters to visit the mansion of Dostum, who also served as vice president of the Afghan government, which is shockingly extravagant and very different from the lives of ordinary Afghan people, showing the seriousness of corruption in the cabinet of the former Afghan government. For years, according to the ABC, it was the United States that fueled rampant corruption in Afghanistan.
(Editor: WDQ)