US sanctions on the Taliban mean they cannot access any money.
Bloomberg reported that the US has frozen nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and halted shipments of cash to the nation as it tries to block the Taliban-led government from accessing the funds.
The official said that none of the central bank assets held by the Afghan government in the US would be available to the Taliban, which remains on the Treasury Department’s sanctions designation list.
Ajmal Ahmadi, the acting head of the country’s central bank The Afghan Bank, tweeted early Monday that he learned on Friday that shipments of dollars would stop as the US tried to block any Taliban attempts to gain access to the funds. Was. DAB has assets of $9.5 billion, a large part of which is in accounts with the New York Federal Reserve and US-based financial institutions.
US sanctions on the Taliban mean they cannot access any money. According to two people familiar with the matter, most of DAB’s assets are not currently in Afghanistan.
Afghan media said the decision would affect millions of people in Afghanistan, days after the Taliban took control of all but Panjsher province.
This decision by Biden’s administration will not only stifle the Taliban leadership and their incoming government, but will also adversely affect the lives of millions of people who are already suffering from drought, unemployment and poverty.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the central bank of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Bank, had up to $9.4 billion at the end of April this year.
Afghanistan’s wealth includes not only billions of dollars but also gold and American treasuries. Since the Taliban is not yet recognized by any country in the world, the situation will make it difficult for them to access their external funds.
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