RASC News Agency: Reports from Herat province in western Afghanistan suggest that former officials of the Republic government in the province’s prison allegedly embezzled over 700,000 kabuli rupees from contractual individuals and are currently unaccounted for.
A reliable source in Herat province, speaking on condition of anonymity to the RASC news agency on Friday, March 15th, disclosed that the former prison director and several other financial and administrative officials of the province misappropriated personal funds from individuals employed in the logistical section of Herat prison and absconded following recent developments.
The source further reveals that a contractual individual, known by the alias “Mama Gul,” has tirelessly endeavored to recover her funds but to no avail. Mama Gul has even engaged with Taliban officials in Herat province on multiple occasions, seeking assistance in tracing her money. According to the source, “The Taliban, while assisting Mama Gul in reclaiming her funds, suggested that she could resume working in the logistical section of Herat prison to aid in locating former prison officials.”
Additional sources in Herat province divulge that Mama Gul’s case dates back several years. The source elucidates that during the Republic government, Mama Gul cultivated favorable relations with senior government officials and gradually assumed control of the logistical section of Herat province’s prison, where she served for five years. Meanwhile, some civil activists in Herat province contend that corruption within various government departments of the Republic government was a prevalent issue that conveniently favored the societal elites.
Ahmad Shah Rustami, a civil activist in Herat province, informed the RASC news agency that during the Ashraf Ghani government, significant sums of money were allegedly embezzled by certain individuals, with the scale of corruption reaching unimaginable levels. Rustami asserts that with the Taliban’s ascendancy in Afghanistan, many individuals suffered financial setbacks due to the political turmoil and their inability to access their funds.
However, Osman Jamali, a knowledgeable individual in western Afghanistan, conveyed to the RASC news agency that many were cognizant of the Taliban’s seizure of power and promptly fled, transferring substantial amounts of money abroad. He further notes an instance in the Herat customs department, where, following rampant corruption, some prominent figures in the province collaborated with their counterparts in Kabul to incinerate the Islam Qala customs facility, putting an end to the corruption practices there, without addressing the financial losses incurred by national traders to alleviate the challenges confronted by that segment of society.
It is noteworthy that most government departments in Herat province in western Afghanistan boasted significant revenues, enabling many to exploit the opportunities presented to amass not just considerable wealth but boundless riches.
