The Taliban-controlled central bank of Afghanistan posted several images to Twitter last week showing a large pallet of cash sitting on an airport runway.
The bank claimed the pallet contained $40 million in various currencies, including U.S. dollars, and was delivered as “humanitarian aid” by unspecified donors.
“This is the second package that has arrived in Afghanistan this week,” the financial institution, known as Da Afghanistan Bank, claimed.
The bank expressed its appreciation for “any principled action that leads to the transfer of reserves to the country and helps the needy people of the society,” and pledged to “continue its efforts in strengthening the banking sector.”
After posting still more images of the carefully wrapped stacks of money, Da Afghanistan Bank claimed the cash was “handed over to a commercial bank in Kabul.”
Da Afghanistan Bank made several nearly identical claims of receiving millions in foreign cash over the past few months, without ever specifying who made the donations. The amount cited by the bank in pallet-of-cash claims from September and November was also $40 million. In November, Da Afghanistan Bank claimed two $40 million pallets of cash received days apart were in addition to funds provided for humanitarian aid.
