Arrest warrant for ex-Afghan bank chief over 'fraud'

 

Mr Fitrat has said he has no plans to return to Afghanistan from the US

Afghan officials have issued an arrest warrant for the former governor of the central bank, Abdul Qadeer Fitrat.

He is being investigated in connection with massive fraud at the privately owned Kabul Bank and the printing of unauthorised amounts of currency.
Earlier, it emerged Mr Fitrat had fled Afghanistan for the US - he said his life was in danger for exposing fraud.
He said the Afghan government had hindered his attempts to investigate corruption.
'Government payroll' Afghanistan's Deputy Attorney General Rahmatullah Nazari said he would ask the US embassy and Interpol for help in securing Mr Fitrat's arrest.
"He will be brought here to face the judiciary. We will follow him," he told the BBC.
"There are some serious charges against him. He needs to answer all of them.''
The US - where Mr Fitrat has residency - does not have an extradition treaty with Afghanistan. He has said he has no plans to return to Afghanistan.
The embezzlement at Kabul Bank, Afghanistan's largest private bank, almost led to its collapse last year after it was discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars had gone missing. Kabul Bank Timeline

• 2004: Kabul Bank founded by international poker player, Sherkhan Farnood
• September 2010: Kabul Bank taken over by the central bank after a run on the bank amid fears of its collapse
• February 2011: Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, central bank governor, tells BBC those involved in bank's woes should be prosecuted
• February 2011: An IMF report recommends the bank be put in receivership
• April 2011: Mr Fitrat, names in parliament prominent Afghan figures in connection with the Kabul Bank scandal
• May 2011: Report by anti-corruption office shows $467m (£290m) of outstanding loans were made without appropriate collateral

The bank handles up to 80% of the government payroll, including salaries for policemen and teachers.

In April, Mr Fitrat accused several key Afghan officials - including President Hamid Karzai's brother and Vice-President Qasim Fahim- of being involved. Both deny the charges.
Then on Monday, he told reporters he had had to leave the country as his "life was completely in danger".
Mr Fitrat alleges that the central government did not assist him in the investigation or provide any help in recovering the bank's assets.
"During [the] last 10 months during the Kabul Bank crisis, I continuously pressed for the creation of a special prosecution, for the creation of a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute those who were involved in Kabul Bank's fraud," he told the BBC.
"I did not receive any information that there is a credible plan to prosecute, to investigate and prosecute these individuals. The high political authorities of the country were responsible [for blocking] these efforts," he alleged.
He said he left the country after he received information that his life was in danger from "credible sources".
President Karzai has said Afghanistan lacks the necessary banking experience to oversee the central institution and has blamed foreign advisers for the crisis.
He has also pledged to ensure that those responsible are subject to criminal investigations.