Afghan senators on Sunday summoned senior officials of Da Afghanistan Bank, Ministry of Interior, and Customs Department over smuggling of US dollar from Afghanistan to foreign countries.
Mohammad Alam Izadyar, Deputy Speaker of the House claimed that widespread corruption exists in the customs department. He further said that millions of dollars have been taken out of the country and the trend has further devaluated Afghani, Afghanistan’s currency.
Mohammad Azim Qooyash, head of the Senate finance and budget committee expressed his concerns regarding money laundering and urged the government to prevent the illegal outflow of foreign currencies to neighboring countries. Speaking at the session, General Ali Mast Mohmand, a senior official in the interior ministry, said that police have seized more than one billion foreign currency last year while individuals wanted to smuggle it out of the country. Gen. Mohmand blamed porous borders for the illegal smuggling of foreign currencies.
At the same event, Khalil Sediq, the governor of Afghanistan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, said that based on the law individuals can carry up to $20,000 with themselves and there are people with multiple-visas who are daily commuting to our neighboring countries with this amount of dollars.
Abdullah Raqeebi, deputy minister of customs and revenue, said that Afghanistan has 900-kilometer border with Iran but the US dollar is still smuggled to Iran despite the government efforts.
This comes as concerns recently grew over a sharp decline in Afghani value against foreign currencies, especially US dollar.
