Afghan Ministry of Finance Busts Major Corruption Ring
Kabul, Afghanistan| October 29th, 2009
The Afghan Ministry of Finance supported by the High Office of Oversight and the Ministry of Interior today announced that it had arrested two customs brokers who are alleged to be part of an organized group operating at the Kabul International Airport who have been defrauding the government of customs revenues that could approach 1.5 billion Afs (30 Million USD) per year. The announcement came at the end of a major one month investigation into the systematic falsification of customs documents.
“We don’t know the full extent of the alleged fraud, but believe the two are a key part of a highly organised criminal ring that may have been operating at Kabul International Airport for several years,” said Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, Minister of Finance.
“Today we have dealt a major blow to organized crime within Afghanistan. Not only will this result in a large increase to government revenue, it sends a clear message to corrupt officials : no one is above the law” said Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, Minister of Finance, “we will continue our investigations and it is our intent to bring charges against all Customs Officials proven to have cooperated with the group”
Kabul International Airport is a major hub for the import of high value goods into Afghanistan. The detained customs brokers are accused of falsifying reports on the value of products, while pocketing the duty collected on their true value. In some cases it is alleged that this under reporting had been as high as 60 times their true value.
“This is an example of the importance of coordinated government response to address the problem of organized corruption in government institutions” said Mr. Osmani, Chairman of the High Office of Oversight. “The High Office will continue to provide support to line Ministries to assist their efforts to control corruption”
The reduction of corruption is a critical theme in the Ministry of Finance efforts to increase government revenue collection and build the sustainability of Government. As part of this effort the Ministry has established an Anti-corruption hotline which was instrumental in this case. The hotline is staffed by fluent in English, Dari and Pashto speakers and provides information directly to the Minister. Anyone observing corrupt behavior is asked to call 0796 100 000.
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