Taliban’s Fake Nonprofits Scam Millions in U.S. Aid Post-Afghanistan Withdrawal

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Taliban has set up fraudulent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to embezzle hundreds of millions in U.S. humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan following the 2021 military withdrawal, according to a report by Judicial Watch.

NGOs are generally non-profit organizations dedicated to humanitarian causes to enhance public or social well-being, numbering around 1.5 million in the United States, according to the State Department.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban are not surprisingly stealing the humanitarian aid that keeps flowing to the central Asian Islamic nation by, among other things, utilizing fake NGOs.

Specifically, the Taliban is benefiting from American education funding through the establishment of fraudulent NGOs to receive donor assistance, according to an audit published recently by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The investigation uncovered that the Taliban is also infiltrating and coercing established Afghan NGOs that provide educational support.

“For example, an NGO official told us the Taliban are targeting and extorting Afghans who receive monetary support from U.S.-funded education programs under the guise of taxation,” the report states.

“In another example, NGO officials told SIGAR that the Taliban are coercing NGOs to hire Taliban supporters or purchase goods from Taliban-owned companies.”

Before the sudden military withdrawal under the Biden administration, the U.S. had allocated $1.3 billion for education-focused initiatives in Afghanistan, which reportedly led to significant enhancements in the country’s education system.

In the fiscal year ending September 2023, the United States provided over $566 million in humanitarian aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Most of these funds were allocated for emergency food aid, with a portion designated for general humanitarian and health purposes. Government records indicate that over $15 million was directed towards a cause labeled as “redacted.”

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