The US will put $3.5 billion in Afghanistan’s central bank reserves under the control of a Swiss-based oversight board to pay for limited financial services in the country while ensuring the Taliban regime doesn’t get access to the money, the US Treasury Department said.
The funds, which had been frozen when the Taliban took over Afghanistan a year ago after the pullout of US and foreign troops, will remain under a Swiss-based oversight board made up of one person from the US, one from Switzerland and two from Afghanistan who are not associated with the Taliban.
The fund will be used to make electricity payments and to pay international financial institutions, but most will remain in the Afghanistan’s central bank reserves until it implements money-laundering controls and has sufficient political independence. The reason for setting up the new fund now is to enable the funds to move quickly once the conditions are met for its release. Earlier this year, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will allow the $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan’s central bank to eventually be distributed inside the country.