Taliban accidentally transfers money to Tajikistan-based opposition; embassy refuses to pay back: Report
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Taliban transferred nearly $800,000 into the bank account of the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan, even though it was not to be carried out anymore
What would you do if someone mistakenly transfers money in your account? Return it to them, we assume. A similar incident took place when Taliban accidentally transferred money into the bank account of the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan.
However, the authorities in Tajikistan, who are staunch critics of Taliban, have denied any possibility of returning the money.
A Dushanbe-based news website Avesta reported a few days ago that the Taliban transferred nearly $800,000 into the bank account of the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan, even though it was not to be carried out anymore.
As per sources cited by the news group, the money was supposed to be transferred by Afghanistan’s former president Ashraf Ghani’s government. This money was supposed to be used for funding a school for refugee children in Tajikistan. However, the deal had fallen through when Taliban took over Afghanistan and Ghani fled the country.
A few weeks later, the transfer did place after all in September, but some sources claim the figure was closer to $400,000. However, there was no communication about the same from the Taliban-run Finance Ministry of Afghanistan for weeks.
Struggling to keep the economy afloat, in November, as per reports, Taliban contacted Tajikistan government about the money transfer and asked the officials to return every penny of that money transfer. The Tajikistan officials, however, refused to follow the order.
"We have not built the school, but for four months now, teachers and Embassy staff have been getting their salary out of these funds. All the money is being spent on the needs of the Embassy and of citizens of Afghanistan," the source was quoted saying by Eurasianet.
The Tajikistan government formally counts Taliban as a terrorist organisation, and thus, it would be impossible for the government to transfer money to such an entity which is labelled as a 'terrorist organisation', the sources claimed.