Taliban officials accuse US of 'usurping' Afghanistan's frozen assets

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Sep 19:18

This follows Washington's announcement that it would establish an external fund to manage $3.5 billion of Afghanistan's stolen national deposits.

Taliban officials (AFP)

After Washington unveiled plans to create an external fund to administer $3.5 billion of Afghanistan's stolen national reserves, the Taliban said on Thursday that the US had "usurped" Afghan assets.

The US placed a $7 billion asset freeze on the Afghan central bank in August of last year, which exacerbated the poverty crisis brought on by decades of US occupation, followed by the US forces' chaotic withdrawal and the fall of te US-supported government and thus the suspension of foreign aid.

US President Joe Biden announced a plan to divide the funds earlier this year, with half going to help Afghanistan under strict inhuman conditions and the other half going to those affected by the 9/11 attacks, which Afghanistan has no involvement in.

Since then, Afghanistan has been hit by a winter food crisis, an economic collapse, and a terrible earthquake. Kabul's new leaders have been lobbying Washington to release the humanitarian money.

However, the US stated on Wednesday that it did not trust the Taliban leadership with the country's money and that the $3.5 billion would be kept in a professionally managed fund.

"The assets of the people of Afghanistan have been usurped by the United States," government Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

"We consider it an invasion on the property of Afghans," he added. "The United States is not the owner of these assets." He demanded the funds are released "without any conditions."

The new Afghan Fund, based in Geneva, will be in charge of carrying out essential central bank duties, such as paying for Afghanistan's imports of power and international arrears, as well as perhaps basic needs like currency printing.

The US and other countries continue to use the Taliban as an excuse to abstain from releasing to Afghanistan millions of dollars worth of assets since the 20-year military occupation came to an end.

"There is currently no institution in Afghanistan that can guarantee that these funds would be used only for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan," US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo claimed in a letter to the country's central Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) on Wednesday.

"Until these conditions are met, sending assets to DAB would place them at unacceptable risk and jeopardize them as a source of support for the Afghan people," said the letter obtained by AFP.

DAB also criticized the plan to deposit its reserves in Switzerland.

It said that using them for purposes other than lawful economic activity, such as regulating the money market and facilitating commerce, would be "inappropriate" for the organization.