More betrayal in Afghanistan
Khalilullah Ferozi is one of two former executives arrested in connection with a probe of fraud at Kabul Bank. Credit: AP
For a potent symbol of futility in Afghanistan, look no further than the failure of Kabul Bank, the nation's largest private financial institution.
Last week the bank's former chairman and its former chief executive were arrested in connection with what officials said were $900 million in "loans" to insiders and politically connected individuals, evidently with little or no collateral and not much repayment. Among these lucky borrowers were a brother of Afghan president Hamid Karzai.
The bank mess is emblematic of the corruption and waste that plague American efforts at nation-building in Afghanistan. Given that an estimated 97 percent of the country's gross domestic product comes from spending by America and other countries on troops and aid, it's reasonable to assume that much of the looted money originated in the wallets of U.S. taxpayers.
Like so much that happens in Afghanistan, the Kabul Bank episode demonstrates the cronyism that is rampant at the highest levels of society. And now that Osama bin Laden is dead, it would make anyone wonder just how much longer we'll continue to pour American treasure and lives into the place.
Yet the arrests are also a sign of hope. Afghanistan is not the only country, after all, in which reckless lending and fraud have driven a big bank into the ground.
At least Afghanistan is prosecuting the executives who presided over the collapse. hN
