After the humiliating exit of American troops, the US Treasury has frozen $9.4 billion of Afghanistan's Central Bank reserves.
The Taliban's declaration that it had taken control of Afghanistan on Monday put central bank watchers around the world on alert.
The nation's central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, held $9.4 billion in international reserves as of April, according to the International Monetary Fund.
International observers are concerned about what the Taliban would do with the funds if it got its hands on the central bank's assets.
With your experience, you might be able to direct us to sources that will recount how much of the trillions of taxpayer dollars spent in the Afghan/Iraq wars went to graft, bribes, legal payments (e.g., 2007-8 to Iraqi warlords), and the like.
Just a few references, please. Thx.
"The vast majority of the Afghan Central Bank assets are not currently held in Afghanistan," a person familiar with the matter tells Axios.
"Any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban," an administration official tells Axios.
Central banks usually hold reserves in gold or a wi...