IMF Recommends Receivership and Sale of Kabul Bank as U.S. Investigators Karzai and Blacklists Afghan Money Exchanger

On February 15, 2011, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that Afghanistan’s largest bank, the Kabul Bank, be placed in receivership and then sold. Meanwhile, a U.S. grand jury is investigating allegations that Mahmood Karzai, a brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and a 7% owner of the Kabul Bank, engaged in racketeering, extortion and tax evasion. On February 18, 2011, the U.S. Treasury placed the New Ansari Exchange and 15 persons associated with on a blacklist for concealing illicit narcotics proceeds. The convergence of developments raise questions about the transparency and integrity of the Afghanistan government...(more)...