VZCZCXRO9925
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #0022/01 0040520
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 040520Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4449
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 0963
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000022 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TREASURY FOR LMCDONALD, MNUGENT, JCASAL, AKIFAYAT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2020 
TAGS: EFIN EAID PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: "TEN MILLION DOLLARS A DAY" LEAVING 
THE COUNTRY? 
 
REF: 09 KABUL 3364 
 
Classified By: CDDEA Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (b) an 
d (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: On December 26, the U.S. Treasury Attache and 
a representative of the Border Management Task Force 
participated in an impromptu meeting between Afghan Minister 
of Finance Zakhilwal and Central Bank Governor Fitrat.  The 
Minister and Governor discussed Minister Zakhilwal,s recent 
public statement that an estimated $10 million in assorted 
currencies is leaving Kabul International Airport each day 
(based on a U.S. co-sponsored sampling).  They considered 
ways to streamline reporting to increase fidelity in tracking 
data.  They also agreed to form a "commission" to study the 
issue of monies leaving and entering Afghanistan and vowed to 
fully cooperate (including resource sharing) in this 
endeavor. (Note: This meeting stemmed from widespread media 
reporting and public inquiry surrounding Zakhilwal,s 
statement and a similar statement by Ambassador Wayne at an 
Embassy-sponsored seminar on bulk cash smuggling lead by 
DHS.) End summary. 
 
EXAMINING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
ON ADDRESSING BULK CASH SMUGGLING 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (C) On December 26, EmbOffs met with Minister of Finance 
Zakhilwal, Governor Fitrat, Director General Mustafa Massoudi 
(Financial Intelligence Unit), and General Jabarkhil (Afghan 
Border Police Airport Operations) to discuss Minister 
Zakhilwal,s recent public comments that $10 million in 
assorted currencies is leaving Kabul International Airport 
each day.  As part of the meeting, the Minister and Governor 
explored ways to streamline and make more transparent the 
reporting system on bulk cash movements. (Note: The Embassy 
was invited to this meeting to observe and provide technical 
recommendations.) 
 
¶3. (C) Governor Fitrat began the meeting by pointing out that 
the Central Bank,s role is to collect the cash declaration 
forms at the airport from Customs, analyze them, and provide 
their results to law enforcement for further investigation. 
He said it is the Ministry of Finance,s role (through 
Customs) to monitor passengers, collect cash declarations, 
and verify the amounts.  The Governor also indicated that 
Minister Zakhilwal,s statement regarding money leaving the 
country has created a media firestorm and raised many 
questions about capital flight among the public.  (Note: The 
Governor and FIU director have been approached on numerous 
occasions by the press and others within government during 
the past several days for an explanation.  According to the 
Central Bank, Afghans believe the money leaving is all tied 
to high-level corruption or terrorism.) 
 
DECONSTRUCTING THE AFGHAN MONEY MODEL 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4. (C) Minister Zakhilwal thanked the Governor for his views 
and willingness to cooperate.  He also thanked the U.S. for 
continued support and asked for assistance in this area 
moving forward.  He said his figure of $10 million per day is 
strictly an average based on other data he has received from 
a U.S. co-sponsored sampling over a short period at Kabul 
Airport.  The Minister also said an unnamed airline executive 
recently told him huge sacks of money are going out through 
Kabul International Airport all the time.  (Note: It was 
unclear whether or not the Minister believed this money was 
typically subjected to Customs inspection or was loaded 
directly onto planes at the ramp.)  He pointed out that the 
Ministry of Finance and Central Bank should work 
cooperatively to discover whether these monies are "legal" or 
"illegal" and whether or not they have been taxed.  The 
Minister said that there are many legitimate reasons why the 
money might be leaving via bulk cash.  For one, traders may 
view it as more time efficient and less expensive than banks. 
 However, he said neither the Ministry of Finance nor the 
Central Bank know for sure the true origin of such vast 
amounts of money and the "people deserve to know where this 
money came from and why it is going out." (Note: We observed 
that Governor Fitrat was deferential to the Minister 
throughout.  The meeting was also held in the Minister,s 
office vice the Central Bank which is an indication of the 
Minister,s political authority vis--vis Governor Fitrat.) 
 
 
A NEW COMMISSION ON BULK CASH SMUGGLING 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
 
KABUL 00000022  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5. (C) General Jabarkhil interjected and said the Central 
Bank should "take responsibility, verify the money, and 
approve it before it can be taken out of the country."  The 
Governor said that this is "impossible" and not within the 
Central Bank,s remit.  With this, Minister Zakhilwal 
suggested that a "commission" be formed to: i) review the 
procedures, ii) revise the currency declaration form; and 
iii) better coordinate on this issue.  He also agreed to give 
the Central Bank office space at the airport (likely shared 
space with Customs) and indicated that he wanted to be 
personally involved with making sure a control regime would 
be instituted.  Both he and the Central Bank Governor were in 
agreement they must collectively work to achieve better 
fidelity on monies flowing into and out of the country. 
 
NEXT STEPS 
- - - - - - 
 
¶6. (C) Next Steps: On Monday, December 28, the first 
"commission" meeting took place at Kabul International 
Airport and included Afghan Customs, Border Police, 
intelligence, and representatives from the Central Bank. 
Treasury and BMTF were present.  The meeting laid the 
groundwork for: i) streamlining and strengthening customs 
controls at the airport; ii) reviewing and improving the cash 
declaration form; and iii) opening a working, functional 
forum for stronger cooperation and communication.  Following 
the meeting, BMTF - working with DynCorp - initiated 
Operation Fly Away III to detect bulk cash and train Afghan 
Customs on techniques and procedures. 
 
COMMENT 
- - - - 
 
¶7. (C) While reports on capital flight and bulk cash 
smuggling are not new, the Government of Afghanistan is 
presently under more scrutiny over these issues than at any 
time before.  This media scrutiny is pushing the government 
to understand the regional money model and take steps to 
tighten controls at Kabul International Airport and within 
the Ministries of Finance and Interior, as well as the 
Central Bank.  Post sees this as a positive development, as 
key Afghan interlocutors are now working together and aware 
of the importance of this issue. 
 
RICCIARDONE 
RICCIARDONE