The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John F. Sopko, told a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, that SIGAR is investigating transfers of money out of Afghanistan by former Afghan government officials, as well the collapse of the government.
SIGAR, Sopko, said, is working with a contractor to obtain open-source intelligence from countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, which was previously unavailable. This information will be compared to wire transfer data obtained to identify individuals, entities, and shell corporations used by former Afghan government officials or politically connected individuals which may have benefited from the theft of funds or flight of capital from Afghanistan.
Sopko also revealed that SIGAR has obtained a substantial number of new documents from a confidential source containing detailed allegations relating to funds that were transferred out of Afghanistan before the collapse of the government. The investigation is still in its preliminary stages, but the documents indicate that tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold bullion may have been illicitly spirited out of the country through Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and other neighboring countries.
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Regarding the collapse of the Afghan government, Sopko stated that while the Trump administration’s decision to sign the Doha agreement and the Biden administration’s decision to follow through with the withdrawal were immediate factors, those decisions had antecedents that stretched to the beginning of the mission in 2001. He explained that both governments share the blame, with Afghan government officials often focusing on personal gain at the country’s expense, and the United States lacking a long-term, consistent strategy, as well as the doctrines, policies, and resources needed to create another nation’s army almost from scratch.
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Sopko stressed the need for aggressive and independent oversight of U.S. assistance to Afghanistan, as many of the long-term factors that led to the collapse of the Afghan government and security forces had been identified by SIGAR years ago. He emphasized that while the current situation in Afghanistan is much different than it was just two years ago, the United States continues to provide significant financial assistance in a dangerous, unstable, and often opaque environment, and the oversight mission must continue.
“Taxpayer dollars going to Afghanistan now are no less dear than those that were provided at the height of the reconstruction effort,” Sopko said. “And as SIGAR’s mission continues, we look forward to working in cooperation with U.S. agencies on that mission to protect taxpayer dollars.”
