Interest of $270 million earned so far from Afghanistan’s frozen assets

Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, a member of the board of directors of the Afghanistan Trust Fund (ATF) in Switzerland, says the fund has so far earned $270 million in interest.

Ahady told Radio Azadi on Wednesday that this interest, earned from the $3.5 billion, can be used in Afghanistan if necessary.

“Some projects, some basic expenses of the government or the government that they do not have the power to pay and are necessary for the people of Afghanistan are also used there. But in any case, four members of the board must fully agree for such expenses.

“In the last meeting, more than a month ago, on January 29, a decision was made that if the Afghan government cannot pay the loan of the Asian Bank … and they insist that we pay, then it is possible to use this money.

“Because the Asian Bank provides humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and we do not want the humanitarian aid of the Asian Bank to be cut off. Of course, the same ruling was in the case of the World Bank, but this loan was paid by the government itself, so there was no need for us,” Ahady told Liberty radio.

At the same time, Ahady said all four board members need to agree to the spending of this money.

Turkish TRT news channel said in a report on Wednesday that the officials involved in the discussions about the spending of the money of the Afghanistan Trust Fund say for the stability of Afghanistan’s ruined financial system, it is necessary to release this money.

But according to reports, the four board members, Dr. Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Dr. Shah Mehrabi, Dr. Jay Shambaugh, and Ambassador Alexandra Baumann, could not agree on how to spend the money, almost 18 months after the establishment of the fund.

A source told TRT that while all board members agree that this money should not be touched, the interest earned should go towards helping the people of Afghanistan.

After the return of the Islamic Emirate to power in August 2021, $7 billion belonging to the Central Bank of Afghanistan was frozen in the United States, half of which has been invested in a Swiss trust account.

The other half and is earmarked to be paid over to the families of 9/11 attacks.

The Islamic Emirate has however tried unsuccessfully to have the fund released.

During the republic, Da Afghanistan Bank, which was responsible for the country’s monetary stability, kept this capital abroad as a monetary support.