The United States announced that it would transfer $3.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets into a new Swiss-based trust fund that will be shielded from the Taliban and used to help stabilise Afghanistan\u2019s collapsed economy.
\nAccording to international media, the Afghan Fund, managed by a board of trustees, could pay for critical imports like electricity, cover debt payments to international financial institutions, protecting Afghanistan\u2019s eligibility for development aid, and fund the printing of new currency.
\n\u201cThe Afghan Fund will protect, preserve and make targeted disbursements of that $3.5bn to help provide greater stability to the Afghan economy,\u201d the US Treasury said in a statement.
\nUS officials said no money would go to the Afghan central bank, known as DAB, until it is \u201cfree of political interference\u201d diplomatic parlance for replacing the bank\u2019s top Taliban officials, two of whom are under US and UN sanctions, with banking professionals and anti-money laundering safeguards are instituted.
\n\u201cUntil these conditions are met, sending assets to DAB would place them at unacceptable risk and jeopardize them as a source of support for the Afghan people,\u201d US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Ademeyo said in a letter to the central bank\u2019s Supreme Council seen by Reuters.
\nThe new fund is based in Geneva and has an account with the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which provides financial services to central banks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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