Judicial Watch, a US-based investigative group, has disclosed that the Taliban received hundreds of millions in development assistance due to the U.S. Department of State’s failure to properly vet award recipients.
In a report titled “Taliban Gets $239 Million in U.S. Afghanistan Aid after State Department Fails to Vet Awardees,” Judicial Watch investigators found that the State Department did not comply with its own counterterrorism partner vetting requirements in Afghanistan before awarding at least 29 grants to various local entities.
“Less than a year after Judicial Watch reported that the Taliban established fake nonprofits to steal millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Afghanistan, a new investigation reveals that the terrorist group has also received hundreds of millions in development assistance from Uncle Sam because the State Department fails to properly vet award recipients,” the report stated.
The report highlighted that the State Department has a system to identify whether prospective awardees have a record of ethical business practices and is supposed to conduct a risk assessment to determine if programming funds may benefit terrorists or terrorist-affiliates before distributing American taxpayer dollars. However, in more than two dozen cases examined, the agency “did not bother and failed to keep proper records.”
In addition to benefits through fraudulent NGOs, the Taliban also profited from taxes, permit fees, and import duties on the $3 billion provided by the U.S. for humanitarian purposes in Afghanistan after the withdrawal.
Economists suggest that the Taliban will benefit from the funds in various ways as it currently holds power in the country. “I think the aid that the world provides to the government of Afghanistan [Taliban] is given with the knowledge of such circumstances, and it does not seem unnatural. Where there is a government [Taliban], it is obvious that such interests will be directed towards it,” said Sayed Masoud, a lecturer.
Citing findings from a federal audit, Judicial Watch also noted that the UN has received $1.6 billion in U.S. funding for Afghanistan, and a significant portion of that money likely went to the Taliban. The U.S. government does not require the UN to report on taxes, fees, or duties incurred on American funds for activities in Afghanistan.
Maryam Arwin, a women’s rights activist, acknowledged that the funds are intended to aid those in need but expressed concern about their ultimate impact. “Even though the people of Afghanistan are experiencing increasing economic poverty, this humanitarian aid, whether directly or indirectly, has helped the Taliban stay in power and has strengthened this self-proclaimed government,” she said.
UN agencies have reported that over 23 million people in Afghanistan are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Earlier, the U.S. chargé d’affaires for Afghanistan, Karen Decker, denied that the Taliban had access to U.S.-funded aid in Afghanistan, asserting that the money is directed to UN accounts. However, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported that the Taliban are benefiting from U.S. aid.
