Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Taliban confiscated the property of a number of former officials Afghanistan worth almost US $ 12.4 million or equivalent to Rp. 176 billion.
Since returning to control of Afghanistan, the Taliban directly control the country’s central bank. The assets seized were cash and gold bars.
In an official statement as reported by Reuters, the central bank said the cash and gold bars were found in the homes of former officials.
One of them was found at the home of the former vice president of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh. At the house, the Taliban found US$6.5 million in cash and 18 gold coins.
A member of the Taliban’s Cultural Commission, Shahab Lewal, who helped find the money and gold coins at the time, said he would return them to the Afghan Ministry of Finance under the Taliban.
Saleh is now joining Ahmad Massoud’s loyalist force known as the National Resistance Force (NRF) against the Taliban from the Panjshir Valley. Saleh was called to flee abroad when the Taliban claimed to have besieged the Panjshir Valley.
However, through the video, Saleh confirms that he is still staying in Panjshir.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the central bank asked all Afghans to use local money in transactions.
The advisory was issued after banks and a number of companies were concerned that they were starting to run out of foreign currency, especially the US dollar.
The central bank also issued circulars to local banks to freeze the assets of people previously involved in the old government. The move came after seeing signs that the Taliban wanted to regain control of their wealth.
(heart/bac)
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