KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's finance minister called Wednesday for an investigation into allegations he personally benefited from corruption at the country's largest bank.
Kabul Bank, a company with ties to Afghanistan's political elite, has been grappling for months with accusations of cronyism and financial mismanagement.
Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, a top adviser to President Hamid Karzai, said he wants Afghanistan's attorney general and the country's High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption to probe allegations he and the bank's chief executive split improper interest payments made by the bank. Details of the allegations were made public by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
"Because my name has been mentioned in this article, I ask the attorney general's office to make this a priority," Zakhilwal wrote to Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Alako.
Zakhilwal urged investigators to make all details of their findings available to the media.
A spokesman for the attorney general, a Karzai appointee, did not immediately comment.
Kabul Bank handles payrolls for government workers and security forces. A run on the bank last year prompted fears it could collapse, putting the rest of the country's fragile financial system at risk.
The panic was sparked by reports of mismanagement of questionable lending practices -- including the use of bank funds to purchase beachfront Dubai villas -- that led to the removal of two top executives, Sherkhan Farnood and Khalilullah Ferozi. They are the bank's largest shareholders, with 28 per cent stakes each.
Farnood is a world-class poker player who raised money for Karzai's re-election campaign. Other shareholders include the president's brother Mahmood Karzai, who owns 7 per cent of Kabul Bank, and Haseen Fahim, the brother of one of Afghanistan's two vice presidents.
The central bank took control of Kabul Bank in September. It is trying to sort through its finances and ensure loans get repaid.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, NATO forces in Afghanistan said a roadside bomb killed a coalition service member in the south of the country. The nationality of the service member or the exact site of the blast were not disclosed.
At least 32 service members with the international coalition have been killed so far this year. Last year was the deadliest of the nearly decade-long war for international troops, with more than 700 killed, compared to just more than 500 in 2009, previously the worst of the war.
The U.S. plans to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in July with the aim of handing over responsibility for the country's security to Afghan forces. NATO aims to pull all its troops out by 2014.
