SIGAR

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
FIGURE 3.29
KABUL BANK DEBT RECOVERIES, AS OF DECEMBER 17, 2016 ($ MILLIONS)
Cash Recovery
205.7 (+1.1)
Waived Interest by Previous Government
98.2 (+0.2)
Assets Sold to Government
Assets Identified in United Arab Emirates
Agreed Loans Against Collateral (Real Estate)
Interest Waived by Current Government
50.0
47.0
32.3 (-0.3)
14.1
0 50 100 150 200 250
Note: Figures in parantheses represent the change from reported amounts last quarter.
Source: Kabul Bank Receivership, “Kabul Bank’s Assets Recovery Brief Report,” 12/17/2016 and 9/18/2016.
Cash and Asset Recoveries—A Closer Look
The Kabul Bank Receivership (KBR) informed the State Department
that as of December 17, 2016, “total recoveries”—a category introduced
in the last quarter of 2015—stand at $447.3 million, as shown in Figure
3.29. The reported recoveries comprise cash, waived interest, and assets
recovered or seized (but not necessarily liquidated), and collateral, as
well as amounts still owed by major debtors who signed loan-repayment
agreements. 639 Amounts owed by 283 debtors have been paid off.
Arrangements have yet to be reached with 114 others (individuals and
corporations). The KBR reported $539.7 million remains outstanding
from the original theft. Including interest, the total is approximately
$597.1 million. 640 However, no U.S. government agency has been able to
verify these figures. 641
Until October 2014, soon after President Ghani’s presidential decree to
hold accountable and recover stolen public money from those responsible
for the Kabul Bank theft, a total of $225.4 million had been recovered or
obtained as assets. Since then, only an additional $30.3 million has been
recovered in cash; another $32.3 million worth of loan-repayment plans
have been agreed to. 642
If the reported figures are accurate, only $205.7 million of the $447.3 million
has been truly recovered so far, according to the State Department
(State). Upon further examination,
• The $50 million in bank “assets sold to government entities” that was
originally recovered by the KBR were transferred or “loaned” by the
Karzai government to various ministries and agencies, but not paid for.
The KBR has been unable to reclaim the value of these assets from the
government, despite numerous requests.
REPORT TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS I JANUARY 30, 2017
159