UN sent $2.9B to Afghanistan post-Taliban takeover, US funds diverted: Report

$2.9B sent to Afghanistan post-Taliban, US funds diverted: Report

Report found some US funds ended up in the central bank of Afghanistan
UN doesn’t deny cash sent to bank; no alternative under Taliban control
State Department: UN responsible for handling the cash transfer program

Updated: Mar 20, 2024 / 02:32 PM CDT

Da Afghanistan Bank is pictured in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 2, 2022. Afghanistan on Tuesday received another batch of 40 million U.S. dollars cash aid aimed at bolstering the country’s impoverished economy, said a statement from the Da Afghanistan Bank DAB, the country’s central bank. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Afghanistan has received more than $2.9 billion in cash from the United Nations since the Taliban took over, a ProPublica investigation found, leading to the transfer of U.S. funds to the militant group.

ProPublica, citing a Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction report, found the U.N. deposits funds into a private Afghan bank and distributes funds to aid organizations and nonprofit humanitarian groups affiliated with the agency. However, some funds ended up at the central bank of Afghanistan, which is controlled by the Taliban, according to the report.

According to ProPublica, the report offers the first detailed account of how U.S. funds came under Taliban authority and adds to evidence that contributions to the U.N. may not always reach Afghans needing assistance. The report didn’t provide details on how much U.S. funding has been sent to the central bank.

U.N. officials haven’t denied the fact that cash makes its way to the central bank; however, they said there’s no way to avoid it due to Taliban control of the country, according to ProPublica.

In a March 6 briefing to the U.N. Security Council, Roza Otunbayeva, the U.N.’s special representative for Afghanistan, said cash shipments have contributed to economic stabilization and provide medical care and food to Afghans, according to the nonprofit newsroom. Otunbayeva didn’t mention the Afghan central bank.

The U.S. Department of State wrote a letter in response to the inspector general’s report stating the U.N. is responsible for handling the cash transfer program, ProPublica reports.

Lawmakers argue the U.S. needs to do more to prevent money being sent to the group, ProPublica reports. The U.S. remains the largest donor of Afghanistan, providing about $2.6 billion since the collapse of the previous Aghan government, per ProPublica.

Click here to read the full story on ProPublica.