Taliban accused today USA that his assets were misappropriated Afghanistan and demanded their release “unconditionally” the day after Washington refused to release billions of dollars in Afghan Central Bank money that had been frozen since last summer.

“The US has embezzled the assets of the Afghan people,” said Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. He added that the money “does not belong to the United States” and demanded its extradition “unconditionally.”

On Wednesday, Washington announced the creation of a fund in Switzerland that will manage half of Afghanistan’s $3.5 billion assets that were frozen when the Taliban took power in August 2021. The Fund will take over the functions of the Central Bank, such as paying off the Afghan debt and billing for electricity imports.

In a letter to the Central Bank of Afghanistan, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wali Adehemo expressed regret that the bank was unable to demonstrate its independence from the Taliban, who failed to meet its obligation to finance the fight against terrorism, which it received before the Islamists came to power. , and who has not appointed a credible external observer.

The US has indicated that much of this money should be kept and “managed responsibly” until the situation changes.

When US troops left Afghanistan in August 2021, after 20 years of military intervention and presence in the country, Washington froze $7 billion in Central Bank reserves. In February this year, US President Joe Biden said he would like half of the money to go to compensate the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. This proposal angered the Taliban, who nonetheless began negotiations to find a solution to the problem.

The freeze on funds has exacerbated the economic crisis in Afghanistan, where half the population is starving.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}