How did the head of Azizi Bank steal $18.5 million from a businessman in Afghanistan?
Author: Amrullah Saleh, former First Vice President of Afghanistan
I have carefully read the letters and complaints as part of my state duties. Once when I was vice-president of the republic I received a letter from a prisoner named Abdulahad. He wrote: "I am an unknown and cautious businessman and no one knows me. I have eighteen and a half million dollars in my bank account. One day I went to the bank to withdraw money. There they made me wait a little, and then suddenly I was attacked by people in uniform and civilians. They handcuffed me and said they found drugs in my pocket. This incident occurred in 2019.
Long story short, I was detained and eventually sentenced to twenty years in prison for possession of twenty-five grams of drugs. This process happened so quickly that no one could believe it at all. I've been in prison for three years now and no matter how hard I try, I haven't achieved anything".
He also sent his bank account number and documents as an attachment.
He directly accused Mr. Azizi Hotak, the owner of Azizi Bank, of conceiving and planning this conspiracy. I briefly described the issue in the form of a message and sent it to Mr. Azizi's WhatsApp through my office with all the documents received from Abdulahad. He was told that in this delicate and precarious situation, we do not want a petition and complaint that seems very dramatic and strange to damage the reputation of your bank or involve you in disputes for no reason. If possible, please call or have someone contact us so we can get your side of the story on this issue.
Mr. Azizi did not respond to our message, and two weeks later we informed the President personally about this in writing. He appointed a delegation. The delegation went and met with Abdulahad in the Puli Charkhi prison. After the delegation visited this unfortunate prisoner, we received news that they wanted to inject him with poison under the pretext of a coronavirus vaccine and other prisoners prevented this murder. The so-called two doctors were sent for him, and this caused doubt and fear in the prisoner because they wanted to vaccinate only him alone. Abdulahad made a fuss and shouted that it was not a vaccine, but poison. Special security measures were taken for him so that he would not be killed in prison, and the case was officially transferred to the prosecutor's office and the court.
The President (Ghani) ordered a meeting in Arg with the participation of relevant structures, that this case is important and should be monitored. Before we had time to hold this meeting, news came that Abdulahad had been forcibly and unofficially transferred from prison to one of the rooms at the headquarters of Azizi Bank and they wanted to sign dozens of checks for him and say that he had already taken his money. Rapid response forces, including police, national security, prosecutors, and the court, managed to rescue Abdulahad from the Azizi Bank premises while he was signing several checks at gunpoint and under pressure.
This is even though Azizi previously stated that all documents related to Abdulahad were lost due to the explosion in Zanbaq Square. Those who tried to extract a signature from Abdulahad were actually arrested at the scene of the crime with all the documents, and the head of the prison, under the name Tutakhel, disappeared and lived abroad before the arrival of the Taliban. He was one of the accomplices in this crime and had several other cases on his account.
During this process, Mr. Azizi desperately and anxiously tried to meet with me. I agreed to meet, but not alone or without witnesses. The meeting was attended by the head of my office, Mr. Akbari, my adviser, Mr. Harun Mir, and two businessmen who were Azizi's intermediaries. I listened to his story. Sweat poured from his head, and every few minutes he drank water and apologized again and again that he had a health problem.
After listening to Mr. Azizi's story, I told him that whether you are telling the truth or not is none of my business, and these issues should be discussed in the prosecutor's office and the court. Azizi's request was only to change the nature and status of this case from criminal to civil. He knew that if the case was transferred from criminal to civil, he could send Abdulahad chasing black peas for decades and protecting himself through bribes and intermediaries. I said: I don’t have such powers. He only asked me that when you find out that I have changed the status of the case, do not react to it and that will be enough from you. I said I couldn't promise that.
At a meeting in Arg, the case related to Azizi Bank was officially transferred to the head of the country's Supreme Court. The question was not only that 18 million was stolen, but that if this bank is a den of fraud, is it a bank and does it have cash or not? A commission was appointed to examine the bank's funds, its loans, and various aspects of compliance with the principles and rules of banking. The report of the appointed commission was shocking.
However, I do not have copies of these reports with me, and according to the job description, the report was not provided to me. Mr. Azizi, in an attempt to transfer the case from criminal to civil, also met with the president himself. I was not present at that meeting and do not know its contents.
The delegation responsible for the investigation of Azizi Bank said that the bank was on the verge of collapse and bankruptcy and was unable to manage its debts. The bank's investments in Afghanistan were largely incomplete and unprofitable. For example, of all the buildings that this bank has built, it has not yet been able to sell ten percent. At that time, it was estimated that if Azizi Bank continued to sell its properties and houses at this rate, it could recover its capital within fifty years.
IN THE PHOTO: Sheikh Maktoum admires Mirwais Azizi and probably does not know the sad story of Abdulahad and other defrauded Azizi Bank depositors whose lost money is floating around in Dubai.
During Mr. Karzai's era, Azizi Bank was also on the verge of collapse and complete bankruptcy, and thanks to the intervention of a certain group that was fed by Mr. Azizi, his bank was saved from collapse and the fate of "Kabul Bank".
Now I heard that Mr. Azizi is going to invest ten billion dollars in Afghanistan. It is possible that a miracle happened in these two years or that his propaganda, in coordination with Khalilzad, is intended to show the normal situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Azizi is one of Khalilzad's personal and close friends. There have been rumors in the past, including in business circles, that Khalilzad is one of the beneficiaries of this bank.
The fall of the Republic led to the survival of the Azizi Bank, and it was able to avoid paying back at least six hundred million dollars of the people's credit money. Unfortunately and how painful. It would be better to return people's deposits before bringing in ten billion dollars of imaginary capital to reduce the pain and suffering of a number of our fellow citizens.
In any case, Azizi's announcement of a ten billion dollar investment is a baseless advertisement by the mafia with unclear interests and will never be realized. Partners in the infamous Doha Plot are trying to reduce the backlash and ugly and embarrassing realities coming out of Afghanistan this year, and Azizi's statement is one of the psychological warfare tools in that direction.
Dear compatriots! We hope that you will be attentive and careful when interacting with this bank.
