KABUL // Customers waited for hours to withdraw their money from Afghanistan's largest private bank yesterday, amidst fears of a financial meltdown that the government insists is in no danger of happening.
People started to gather at the main branch of Kabul Bank in the Shar-e-Naw area of the capital during the morning and were still there in the fierce heat of the afternoon, following the resignations of two senior executives from the company in the wake of corruption allegations.
Some were determined to withdraw all their savings after rumours started that the bank could collapse. However, the finance minister, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, sought to reassure them that they had nothing to worry about.
"My message to all the depositors is that their money is safe," he told a press conference. "We know the money is there, they must not panic," he added.
Allegations of corruption have long dogged Kabul Bank, but the controversy surrounding the company came to a head earlier this week when the chairman and chief executive were forced to quit their roles.
The official reasons given for the resignations were that new government rules stop shareholders from holding senior management positions in banks. However, that is believed to be little more than a smokescreen for more serious issues.
According to TheWashington Post, pressure from the US and the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has led to the bank's former chairman, Sherkhan Farnood, being ordered to hand over about US$160 million (Dh588m) worth of luxury villas and other real estate bought in Dubai using company funds.
These properties were often purchased for people with close ties to top levels of the Afghan government. They included Mahmoud Karzai, a brother of the president and a shareholder in Kabul Bank, as well as Haseen Fahim, a brother of one of the vice presidents and another shareholder.
Yesterday, some customers were determined to withdraw all their savings after rumours started that the company could soon collapse But in a nation used to crises of all shapes and sizes, the mood was one of quiet stoicism, rather than panic or anger.
Abbas Forotan had unsuccessfully waited for two-and-a-half hours at another branch of the bank before heading into Shar-e-Naw, the city's busiest neighbourhood, to try his luck there. He planned to take out the $6,313 his father had saved and then close that account.
"When I was at the first branch, people were talking very strangely. Some said the main board members of the bank had all run away and some said the bank was not private anymore, it belonged to the government," he recalled.
The authorities and the company itself were quick to downplay any sense of crisis. Khalilullah Ferozi, the bank's former chief executive, admitted there had been "problems", with anxious customers withdrawing $80 million on Wednesday alone. However, he said, "There is not a run. We're here and we are prepared to pay out as much as the depositors want to withdraw from their accounts."
Despite rumours to the contrary, Afghanistan's Central Bank denies it has taken control of Kabul Bank and insists the company is solvent. Meanwhile, the finance minister, Mr Zakhilwal, rejected fears that hundreds of thousands of government employees including teachers, police and soldiers could go unpaid because of the trouble.
Not everyone appeared entirely confident, though. Mahmoud Karzai, the president's brother who is also a shareholder, told TheWashington Post that intervention from the US might be necessary.
"If the treasury department will guarantee that everyone will get their money, maybe that will work," he told the Post.
Queues of worried customers were reported in some of Afghanistan's largest cities, including Mazar-e-Sharif in the north, Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south. In Kabul, one man, Amal Zaminy claimed to have been waiting for around six hours to withdraw roughly $1,000.
"People are afraid maybe this bank will be closed [down], so they are hurrying to get their cash," he said.
@Email:csands@thenational.ae
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How Sputnik V works
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
more from Janine di Giovanni
How Beautiful this world is!
Results
2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)
3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar
5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
