US Ambassador to Kabul John Bass on Thursday wrote on Twitter that he was shocked and disturbed by reports that are claiming that the Afghan government has requested early release for Kabul Bank fraud perpetrator Khalil Firozy before conclusion of his sentence.
“Countless Afghans suffered in the past decade because international assistance funds were stolen for personal gain”, Bass tweeted.
He said that such an action, along with the continued failure to execute warrants for those accused of corruption, calls into question the government’s commitment to combating corruption and making best use of donors’ support.
On Wednesday Presidential Candidate and former NDS Director Rahmatullah Nabil announced on Twitter that President Ashraf Ghani may have released Khalil Firozy, one of the prime suspects of Kabul Bank scandal last week after contributions of USD 30 million to his campaign camp.
“Ghani was also part of SmartCity deal in which he fired his legal adviser M. A Mohamadi”, Nabil added.
The Kabul bank collapsed in 2010 after losing almost $1bn (£600m), mostly deposited by international donors and many of the bank’s staff were sent to prison but the brothers of former President Hamid Karzai, who were involved, were granted immunity.
The bank’s founder, Sherkhan Farnood, and ex-CEO Khalilullah Ferozi were jailed for five years after being convicted last year of taking $810m of the $935m stolen.
In October 2014, President Ghani resumed the investigation into the banking fraud and reopened the the Kabul Bank inquiry.
