KABUL: (MEP) – Officials from the Attorney General’s office on Tuesday said that a plot to steal 328.5 million AFG from the Ministry of Finance was foiled, but 61 million AFG remains unaccounted for.
Basir Azizi, spokesman of the Attorney General’s office, confirmed that two suspects have been detained, and both were employees of the Ministry of Finance.
Reportedly, 328.5 million AFG was electronically transferred out of Ministry and into an account in Balkh province. The money was then transferred back to the Ministry, but 61 million of it had been cashed via 38 bank checks and remains missing, TOLO News reported.
“The cash was transferred to one of the provinces through an account and then the cash was transferred back,” Aziz said. “But 61 million was cashed by 38 bank checks in the province.”
A government source told condition of anonymity that an individual involved was the head of the Ministry’s branch in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh. The source said this person was not one of the Finance Ministry employees detained, but rather was still free from custody as he is under the protection of power Balkh provincial officials.
Officials from the Attorney General’s office said an investigation was underway.
The Ministry of Finance confirmed the Attorney General’s announcement and credited the Ministry’s digital transaction monitoring system for immediately recognizing the irregularities.
The National Economic Committee of the Lower House urged President Hamid Karzai to punish those responsible severely.
“The President has encouraged these people in the last 12 years,” said MP Ahmad Shah Ramazan. “So the President, in his last days of power, should detain these employees and execute them as a lesson for others.”
