ANI
11 Aug 2022, 13:57 GMT+10
Washington [US], August 11 (ANI): The allegations that former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and his senior advisors fled aboard with millions in cash are unlikely to be true, according to a new report by the US government's oversight authority on Afghanistan.
A report published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said Ghani fled barefoot, without the millions of dollars that he was reported to be carrying and secretly, on August 15 last year as the capital fell to the Taliban.
"The departure was so sudden that the president was barefoot, forcing Kochai to find the president's shoes. The president did not have time to get his passport," one of the Afghanistan officials told SIGAR.
Following the Taliban takeover, various media accounts reported allegations that former President Ashraf Ghani and his senior advisors fled Afghanistan with millions of dollars in cash loaded onto the helicopters that carried them from the presidential palace to Termez, Uzbekistan, on August 15, 2021.
The report titled "Theft of Funds from Afghanistan: An Assessment of Allegations Concerning President Ghani and Former Senior Afghan Officials", assesses the validity of these allegations.
The US report found that some cash was taken from the grounds of the palace and loaded onto President Ghani's evacuation helicopters, evidence indicates that this number did not exceed USD 1 million and may have been closer in value to USD 500,000.
Most of this money was believed to have come from several Afghan government operating budgets normally managed at the palace. SIGAR also identified suspicious circumstances in which approximately USD 5 million in cash was accidentally left behind at the presidential palace.
The report says that some or all of this money likely belonged to President Ghani or the government of the United Arab Emirates. Some or all of it was also supposedly divided by members of the Presidential Protective Service after the helicopters departed but before the Taliban captured the palace.
According to the findings in the SIGAR report, the hurried nature of their departure, the emphasis on passengers over cargo, the payload and performance limitations of the helicopters, and the consistent alignment in detailed accounts from witnesses on the ground and in the air all suggest that there was little more than USD 500,000 in cash on board the helicopters.
Millions of additional dollars nearly made it on board, though some or all of this money may have been former President Ghani's legitimately earned and declared money.
"That being said, it remains a strong possibility that significant amounts of U.S. currency disappeared from Afghan government property in the chaos of the Taliban takeover--including millions from the presidential palace and the NDS vault. Attempts to loot other government funds appear to have been common," the report said.
Ashraf Ghani is immensely proud of his tenure as President of Afghanistan in the face of historic challenges, said his lawyer in response to the allegations that the former president and his senior advisors fled the war-ravaged country with millions of dollars in cash loaded onto the helicopters.
He says accountability and transparency significantly and systematically increased during Ghani's Presidency.
"President Ghani welcomes a full and comprehensive investigation of the Afghanistan government during his tenure, which he is confident will show that he acted with the utmost integrity during his time in office and through his departure last August," the lawyer added. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Long Beach Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Long Beach Star.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.,S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as President Donald Trump hinted the United States may join Israel in its attacks...
MENLO PARK, California: Meta Platforms has made a bold move to accelerate its artificial intelligence ambitions—by investing US$14.3...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: This week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that facilitates Nippon Steel's potential investment...
CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is leaving the G7 summit after just one day, and after refusing...
HOUSTON, Texas: Crude oil surged to multi-month highs this week, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched...
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California: On June 12, Google announced that it had fixed a temporary global service disruption that impacted several...
BANFF, Alberta: The recent G7 summit has convened for the second and final day in the picturesque Canadian Rockies amidst escalating...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: A key global plan to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is now in deeper jeopardy after the United...
CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is leaving the G7 summit after just one day, and after refusing...
HOUSTON, Texas: Crude oil surged to multi-month highs this week, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched...
SEOUL/LONDON: A wave of flight cancellations and diversions swept across the airline industry on June 13 after Israel launched strikes...
WUSHI, Taiwan: Inspired by how Ukraine has used sea drones effectively against Russia in the Black Sea, Taiwan is learning how to use...