The allegation that the former Afghan president took millions of dollars from the country is false: SIGAR

 The allegation that the former Afghan president took millions of dollars from the country is false: SIGAR

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took less than 1 million dollar with him when he left the country, according to a recent report by SIGAR, a US think tank investigating reconstruction in Afghanistan.

When the Taliban entered Kabul on August 15 last year, President Ghani fled Afghanistan with some close associates and bodyguards.

SIGAR says evidence that the former president carried " 500,000" dollars in three helicopters.

SIGAR prepared the report after consulting with officials from the Presidency, the National Security Council, the Ministry of Defense, and several other former officials.

The agency said it had also sent some questions to former president Ashraf Ghani in this regard, but he did not respond.

SIGAR chief John Sopko said in a brief report that "after the fall of the Afghan government, there were reports in many media outlets that former President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and his top adviser had left Uzbekistan with several million dollars. Were taken away. '

The agency says the former president and his associates did not take millions of dollars after the Taliban arrived in Kabul, contrary to their previous claims.

The money left in the Presidency

SIGAR reports that it also received unconfirmed reports that nearly ڈالر 5 million in the Presidency had fallen into the hands of the former president's special bodyguards, who were among those bodyguards during the Taliban's advance on the presidential palace. There was a dispute over the distribution of the money and the money was taken away in three or four vehicles used by the Presidency.

Some time ago, the Taliban Prime Minister had also said that he had received about one million dollars in cash after the Taliban took over the Presidency.

The SIGAR report also states that with the fall of the Afghan government, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) was accused of embezzling millions of dollars.

SIGAR says 70 million$ in cash was allocated for NDS operations in 2021, according to a source. It is estimated that much of it was spent on operations against the Taliban.

According to the source, the money was distributed to the people in the last days of the Afghan government so that they could buy weapons and protect themselves locally.

But another former official told SIGAR that the money was lost on August 14, the day before the fall of Kabul, although the Afghan currency was still there.

Who had the money?

The SIGAR report states that two officials had money when Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan. According to the report, a security guard had  200,000$ in a box.

Similarly, a former National Security Council official had 240,000$ in a box while flying.

Some sources have told SIGAR that each person had between 5,000 to 10,000$ when he left Afghanistan.

According to a SIGAR report, the former president, his wife, and his entourage were paid 120,000$ for a plane to take them from the Uzbek airport to the United Arab Emirates, with the payment being made.

Some Russian sources at the time revealed that Ashraf Ghani had taken 60 60 million with him in three helicopters on his way from Kabul.

The former president had denied the allegations.

A few days ago, the UAE announced that it had welcomed the former Afghan president and his family members on "humanitarian grounds" and that they were currently residing there.

After leaving Kabul, Ashraf Ghani denied the allegations in a video message, saying he had taken millions of dollars with him.

He said he was ready to co-operate fully with a transparent investigation by the United Nations or any other independent body.

However, they have not yet responded to questions from SIGAR in this regard.

In October 2021, SIGAR announced that it would investigate reports that Ashraf Ghani had taken 9 169 million with him on his way abroad from Kabul after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

SIGAR chief John Sopko told the US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee that he would investigate the allegations.