UK to fund Kabul Bank’s forensic audit

KABUL): The United Kingdom, responding to a request from the Afghan government, is ready to fund an audit of Kabul Bank, a senior British official said on Wednesday.

“We were requested by Afghan authorities to support them in undertaking a forensic audit of Kabul Bank, and we are very happy to support them,” the acting head of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) said.

Andrew Kidd told a press conference in Kabul that addressing the bank’s situation was critical and Afghan authorities were interested in finding out what happened within in the bank.

Following the collapse of the largest private sector lender in Afghanistan, Britain has become the first country to announce its willingness to help reform the institution.

Last month, President Hamid Karzai said wrong advice from foreigners and illegal cash withdrawals by stockholders caused the worst banking crisis in Afghanistan.

Subsequently, two high-ranking officials of the bank — Sher Khan Farnood and Khalilullah Ferozi — were dismissed from their positions and Da Afghanistan Bank took its control.

It was announced later that part of the bank was re-named as New Kabul Bank affiliated with the Ministry of Finance and the rest was under audit.

Kidd said they had reached agreement with the Afghan government on a forensic audit of Kabul Bank. The British government would fund the audit, he promised.

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