SIGAR

GOVERNANCE
to INL, the report found that the Afghan government was compliant with
administrative procedures, accommodation, and other basic needs, a key
INL priority. 521
Anticorruption
At the October 2016 Brussels Conference, the Afghan government agreed to
draft and endorse an anticorruption strategy for the whole of government
by the first half of 2017. Implementation of this strategy is to occur by the
second half of 2017. Additionally, five revenue-generating ministries are to
publicly report on implementation progress of their anticorruption action
plans in 2017. 522
Anti-Corruption Justice Center
On May 5, President Ghani announced the establishment of a specialized
anticorruption court, the Anti-Corruption Justice Center (ACJC). 523
The ACJC brings together Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF) investigators,
Afghan Attorney General’s Office (AGO) prosecutors, and judges
to combat serious corruption. 524 The ACJC’s jurisdiction covers major
corruption cases committed in any province involving senior officials or
substantial monetary losses of a minimum of 5 million afghanis (approximately
$73,000). 525
As of December 13, 55 cases have been referred to the ACJC with eight
cases that met the ACJC’s criteria having been assessed for prosecution.
The first ACJC trial was held on November 12 and resulted in the conviction
of a bank branch manager for embezzlement of $152,500. The second trial
was completed on November 19 and resulted in a bribery conviction with
a two-and-a-half-year sentence with a fine for a high-ranking AGO prosecutor.
526 The convicted AGO prosecutor was caught demanding a $760 bribe
to secure the release of a prisoner at the end of his sentence. 527 Additionally,
on January 9, 2017, the ACJC sentenced an MOI major general—formerly
the MOI deputy minister for strategy and planning—to 14 years in jail, a
$150,000 fine, and an 18,000 afghani (approximately $270) fine for accepting
a $150,000 bribe in exchange for awarding a fuel contract. This case was a
result of a joint SIGAR/Major Crimes Task Force investigation. For more
information about this investigation and conviction, see page 44 in Section 2
of this report.
In January 2017, the ACJC announced that it had finalized investigations
into nine MOD generals and four Ministry of Urban Development officials.
The nine generals are accused of collectively embezzling approximately
$1.4 million. 528
According to Resolute Support, the international community has
demanded that ACJC investigators, prosecutors, and judges be vetted and
polygraphed. While the MCTF has complied with this requirement, the AGO
and Supreme Court have resisted or refused. Resolute Support fears that
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SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL I AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION