Karzai Receives ‘Bags Of Money’ From Iran

[GUNNER]

Karzai Receives ‘Bags Of Money’ From Iran

KABUL, Oct 25, 2010 - Afghan president Hamid Karzai admitted Monday that his chief of staff had received "bags of money" from Iran but insisted the payment was transparent and a form of aid from a friendly country.

Cash payments "are done by various friendly countries to help the presidential office and to help the expenses..." said Karzai at a press conference in Kabul.

The New York Times reported Saturday that Karzai's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, has been receiving regular cash payments from Iran, which is trying to expand its influence in the presidential palace in Kabul.

"The government of Iran has been assisting us with five or six or seven hundred thousand euros once or twice every year, that is an official aid," said Karzai.

"He (Daudzai) is receiving the money on my instructions," he added.

The newspaper, citing unnamed Afghan officials said the payments total millions of dollars and go into a secret fund that Daudzai and Karzai have used to pay Afghan lawmakers, tribal elders and even Taliban commanders to secure their loyalty.

"It's basically a presidential slush fund," one Western official is quoted by the paper as saying. "Daudzai's mission is to advance Iranian interests."

 

[pkpatriotic]

Afghan Leaders and Bags of Cash from Iran
Monday, October 25, 2010

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday confirmed New York Times report that his office receives bags of cash from Iran on regular basis. Karzai said however that the bags of cash cover expenses of the Presidential Palace and the transactions are “transparent.” He did not elaborate why in transparent transactions, the monies should be delivered in bags. Afghanistan has a sophisticated banking system and the monies could be transferred from one government to the other. Neither did Karzai explain how the process of the delivery of plastic bags stuffed with hard currency (Euro) to the president of the country could possibly be called transparent.

Afghanistan suffers from chronic official corruption. The president, members of his family, and close friends have long been implicated in corruption scandals that have engulfed the country. The Iranian officials and the media at first called New York Times allegations untrue and an attempt by the West to discredit Afghan-Iranian relationship. But now the Afghan president has admitted to have regularly received bags of cash from Iran.

 

[Hussein]

Iranian officials are used to lie.

You know for exemple Khamenei said today it was not true he said the people in the streets (who protested against the fake elections) were microbs. But sadly for him there are many videos.
They torture people to make stalinian judgments on tv. what to expect from them?

Anyway about Afghanistan we always helped , like we did for Masoud, the great Masoud.
It was against talibans who hate us.
Now it needs to find a cooperation and good relations with neighbour countries.

Even i didn't like the actual government, this way is very logical to establish relations. Because... how Iranians can link to countries full of americans?
Anyway i know many Iranians doing business or construction in Afghanistan. It is natural. I think the relations Iran Afghanistan are natural.

 

[pkpatriotic]

Iran denies payments to Afghan President’s chief of staff
October 26, 2010 3:55:49 AM
AFP | Kabul

The Iranian Embassy in Kabul on Monday denied as “ridiculous and insulting” a New York Times report alleging that Tehran has sent Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s chief of staff cash payments.

“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly dismisses the false, ridiculous and insulting allegations by New York Times,” it said.

“Such baseless speculations are being spread by some Western media outlets in order to confuse public opinion and damage the strong ties between the Governments and nations of the Islamic republics of Afghanistan and Iran.”