The Taliban has seized more than $12 million in cash and gold from the homes of former government officials, as it called for all transactions to be made in local currency, said Afghanistan’s central bank, according to a report by NDTV.
A foreign exchange crunch in the aid-dependent country threatens the Taliban’s rule one month after they seized power.
Most government employees have yet to return to work — and in many cases salaries had already not been paid for months — leaving millions scrambling to make ends meet.
“All Afghans in the government and non-governmental organisations are asked to use afghani in their contracts and economic transactions,” NDTV quoted the central bank as having said in a statement on Wednesday.
The bank later issued another statement saying Taliban fighters had handed over $12.3 million in cash and gold seized from the homes of officials from the former government — a large part discovered at the home of former vice president Amrullah Saleh.
“The money recovered came from high-ranking officials… and a number of national security agencies who kept cash and gold in their homes,” the statement said. “It is, however, still not known for what purpose they were kept.”
