Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli foreign ministry: The vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port, and the passengers are expected to be deported promptly.
Sumud Flotilla: Addameer vessel attacked by an Israeli military helicopter with 93 journalists, doctors and activists on board
Freedom Flotilla Coalition: The Addameer Vessel was seized by the Israeli Navy
Israeli ministry of foreign affairs says ships and passengers of the Freedom Flotilla will be transferred to an Israeli port and deported immediately
Freedom Flotilla Coalition: 3 ships attacked and illegally intercepted by Israeli occupation.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa's motorcade comes under fire in Ecuador
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Israeli quadcopter drops two shells on cafe in Houla town in South Lebanon
Informed source to Al Mayadeen: SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi demands that al-Sharaa approve the establishment of an autonomous region similar to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Israeli media: Three drones launched from Yemen toward Eilat in span of 20 minutes.
Qatari Foreign Ministry: "Israel" should have already ceased fire under Trump plan for Gaza

US tightens grip on much-needed Afghan funds, blames audit: Reuters

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Reuters
  • 21 Jul 2023 13:10
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

The US Treasury claims that the audit into Afghanistan's Central Bank showed "inadequacy" despite not disclosing the audit data to the public.

  • x
  • US tightens grip on much-needed Afghanistan funds, blames audit
    An Afghan woman sits next to her children on Kabul streets in the cold winter as she seeks alms from people passing by in January 2022 (AFP)

The United States conditioned that in order for Afghanistan to access its sovereign funds previously frozen in Switzerland, the US-destroyed country must replace current officials in charge of the central bank with "professional bankers" and introduce financial "reforms", Reuters reported on Friday citing senior US Treasury officials.

Following an American-funded audit of the country's central bank, Washington decided not to allow the return of $3.5 billion belonging to Afghanistan, which are frozen based on US orders in a Geneva-based trust fund.

The results of the audit were not released nor disclosed, sparking criticism over the transparency of the decision that will critically affect the country, while some experts considered that this proves that Washington's move is politically driven and not based on concrete facts.

Read more: UNICEF: Almost 16 million children sleep hungry in Afghanistan

The United States has prohibited Afghanistan's access to $7 billion dollars of its foreign assets, half of which were seized by the US Federal Reserve while the rest is frozen in a Swiss account. US President Joe Biden has been making efforts since to illegally hand over half of the frozen funds in New York out to 9/11 American victims.

Following Biden's attempts, the Taliban slammed Washington's measures describing them as theft, saying that they exhibit the moral decline of the United States.

"The theft of blocked money belonging to the people of Afghanistan by the United States, as well as taking possession of it, is a showcase of the human and moral decline of the country and people," a spokesperson for the Taliban political office said then.

Restrictions on the funds were imposed in August 2021, the day the Taliban entered Kabul concurrently with the hasty withdrawal of US occupation forces from Afghanistan.

Related News

Trump's Federal crackdown continue: National Guard arrives in Chicago

Gaza watchdog warns US Rafah hospital may advance Israeli interests

Da Afghan Bank DAB (central bank) must show that it is free "from political influence and interference," said a Treasury official. DAB must also show that it has "adequate" governance to prevent money laundering and financing of "terrorism", as well as install a "reputable" independent monitor.

"Our assessment of DAB remains unchanged,” said one of the US officials.

Saying that the latest audit is a "preliminary assessment", the Treasury official said its "limitations" suggested that "more comprehensive third-party assessment efforts may be needed."

Shah Mehrabi, an Afghan-American economics professor who chairs DAB's Audit Committee and co-chairs the Afghan Fund board, stated that the audit - which he has seen - was completed last March and is currently with the US State Department.

The audit results will be taken into consideration once they are disclosed, Mehrabi and his co-chair, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, a former DAB governor and former finance minister, told Reuters.

Millions of Afghan families are struggling to survive due to severe shortages in food and basic necessities fueled by an economic crash and a humanitarian crisis, provoked by the United States imposed global isolation on the impoverished nation.

Read more: Invaded, massacred, now 'abandoned': Afghan trauma from US continues

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai revealed to The Washington Post last year that the United States was directly involved in the corruption in the country, admitting that he also was part of it.

"[I take] full responsibility for the corruption and bribes in the delivery of services… But the big contracts, big corruption, in hundreds of millions of dollars or millions of dollars, was clearly a United States of America thing," Karzai told the newspaper.

  • United States
  • Switzerland
  • Afghanistan
  • Taliban
  • US
  • Kabul

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
ap

'Israel' pays influencers $7K per post to whitewash Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
In this May 20, 20201, photo Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, arrives in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)
Politics

US spent $33 billion on post-Oct.7 genocide, wars, Brown Uni reports

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a news conference to mark the seventh day of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP)
Politics

US troops face unpaid wages as government shutdown drags on

Mourners wave Hezbollah and a Palestinian flag during the funeral of Hezbollah former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Sayyed Hashem Safieddine in the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, February 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Hezbollah voices support for Gaza, Resistance on October 7 anniversary

Al-Aqsa Flood restored Palestinian cause on the global stage: Hamas
Politics

Al-Aqsa Flood restored Palestinian cause on the global stage: Hamas

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS