Afghanistan's Anti-Corruption Network (AACN) has approved President Hamid Karzai’s proposal to set up an investigation into the near collapse last year of Kabul Bank, Pajhwok Afghan News Agency reported on Monday.
Last week Karzai ordered the special prosecutor’s office to investigate a $900 million embezzlement scam allegedly involving the bank's Chairman Sherkhan Farnood, CEO Khalilullah Ferozi and other senior Afghan officials, Pajhwok said.
A forensic audit carried out in the bank has found there was no paperwork for loans worth almost $500 million, Pajhwok reported. Karzai, whose brother Mahmoud was among the lenders, has demanded all bad loans be repaid within two months.
Karzai’s move comes as Afghanistan is set to seek financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The upcoming NATO summit on May 20-21 in Chicago is to consider long-term financial support for Afghanistan's security forces.
Afghanistan which is rated the second most corrupt country by watchdog Transparency International, was suspended from IMF funding in 2011 because of the government’s reluctant efforts to tackle rampant corruption.
