Taliban direct banks to freeze accounts of former Afghan officials: Reports : Rashtra News
The Taliban, in a letter, have ordered private banks to freeze accounts of former Afghan officials.
Last week, banks which were closed as soon as the Taliban captured Kabul, were ordered to reopen. However, strict weekly limits on cash withdrawals have been imposed and many people were seen queuing to get cash. (Photo: Reuters)
The Taliban have ordered banks to freeze accounts of former Afghan officials including government workers, lawmakers, according to reports.
The Taliban have written to private banks seeking a list of all accounts linked to the Afghans who worked with the previous US-backed regime.
According to Kabul-based BBC journalist Khalili Noori, the group has ordered banks to freeze accounts of former Afghan ministers, deputies, MPs and mayors.
Taliban ordered freeze of bank accounts of former #Afghan officials including ministers, deputies, MPs and even mayors. In a letter to the private banks, Taliban has asked to send the list of those accounts to the central bank.
— Khalil Noori (@KhalilNoori) September 8, 2021
Last week, banks that were closed as soon as the Taliban captured Kabul, were ordered to reopen. However, strict weekly limits on cash withdrawals have been imposed and many people were seen queuing to get cash.
Last month, the Joe Biden-led US administration froze Afghan government reserves held in the US, effectively blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also blocked a fund transfer worth $440 million in monetary reserves to the country.
Most monetary assets of Afghanistan are held abroad as central banks of developing nations are more likely to park their assets overseas with institutions such as the Federal Reserve of New York (FRNBY) or the Bank of England.
According to Afghan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) Governor Ajmal Ahmady, the Taliban may not be able to access the central bank’s funds and assets worth nearly $10 billion for a long period. The reason being most of these assets are not physically present in Afghanistan.
Read: Day one in Afghanistan with no foreign forces: Long queues at ATMs amid uncertainty and fear
“First, total DAB reserves were approximately $9.0 billion as of last week. But this does not mean that DAB held $9.0 billion physically in our vault. As per international standards, most assets are held in safe, liquid assets such as treasuries and gold,” Ahmady had said.
Only a small amount of Afghan’s total monetary assets may be accessible to the Taliban.
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( News Source :Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Rashtra News staff and is published from a www.indiatoday.in feed.)
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