CAIRO (TASS): Ashraf Ghani, former President of Afghanistan who stepped down and fled the country in the face of the Taliban (outlawed in country), has denied accusations that he carried out of the country a huge amount of money that belongs to Afghan nationals.
“I must now address baseless allegations that as I left Kabul I took with me millions of dollars belonging to the Afghan people. These charges are completely and categorically false. Corruption is a plague that has cripples our country for decades and fighting corruption has been a central focus of my efforts as president,” he wrote in his statement tweeted on Wednesday.
Moreover, the politician said that he was willing to undergo “an official audit or financial investigation under UN auspices or any other appropriate independent body to prove the veracity” of his statements.
Ghani also stressed that the decision to flee Afghanistan was the most difficult he has ever had to make. “I believed it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens,” the former president added.
The Taliban launched a large-scale operation to regain control over Afghanistan after the United States announced the withdrawal of its military personnel from the country. On August 15, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country, while the Taliban forces swept into Kabul, meeting no resistance.
The Taliban radicals have repeatedly accused the ex-leader that he had stolen the money that belong to Afghans and urged him to return the funds acquired illegally. At the same time, they branded his escape from Kabul a mistake because it led to unnecessary tensions in the capital as they claim to have proposed a peaceful way to hand over power.
