The Taliban may have taken control of Afghanistan, but it may have trouble getting easy access to Afghanistan's $10 billion. This is because 'The Afghanistan Bank' has hidden this money.
Experts believe that the bank has kept most of its assets outside Afghanistan. In such a situation, the Taliban rulers will not be able to easily control the $10 billion assets of the Afghan Central Bank. Here, an official of US President Joe Biden's administration said that whatever assets the Afghan government's Reserve Bank has in America, it will not be given to the Taliban.
According to an Afghan official, the country's central bank – The Afghanistan Bank (DAB), has hidden foreign currency, gold and other treasures in its vault. However, the exact details of the total treasury of the bank could not be found.
Most of Afghanistan's assets are kept outside the country. These assets are out of reach of Taliban insurgents. DAB Governor Ajmal Ahmadi said on social media that he stepped down from the bank on Sunday. President Ashraf Ghani and other key officials have already left the country from Kabul airport. The Taliban said in a statement on Saturday that the treasury, public facilities and government offices were the assets of the nation. These should be strictly guarded.
Recent statements have revealed that DAB has a net worth of $10 billion. It has gold reserves of $1.3 billion and foreign exchange reserves of $362 million. Most central banks in developing countries often keep their assets overseas with an institution such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) or the Bank of England.
According to DAB, FRBNY holds gold bars of the Afghan Central Bank worth 101.77 billion Afghan currency. Along with this, $ 1.32 billion was in the vault. DAB's June statement also said that the bank also has investments of $ 6.1 billion. Year-end reports showed that most of those investments were in US Treasury bonds and bills.
These investments were made through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or FRBNY. Talking about its small investments, it has been invested in Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlement, Development Bank in Turkey and Economic Cooperation Organization Trade. Asked about the holdings, an FRBNY official said the bank does not discuss individual account holders or policies but is generally in touch with US government agencies.
The annual statement also details that gold bars and silver coins worth $160 million were kept in the vault of the president's bank. According to UNESCO, there are also 2000 years old gold ornaments and coins in the vault of the Afghan central bank. It is known as the Bactrian Treasure. In 2003 about 21,000 old artefacts were found in a secret vault in the basement of the central bank. She had escaped capture during the previous Taliban regime.
In January, Afghan lawmakers floated the idea of sending the artefacts abroad for safekeeping, fearing they could be stolen, Tolo News reported. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had estimated its value at $9.5 billion in June 2021. The IMF said that some of the challenges facing Afghanistan can easily be mitigated with this money.
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