Anti-Corruption Measures: Persistent Problems Exist in Monitoring Bulk Cash Flows at Kabul International Airport

Abstract

The international community, including the U.S. government, has long held serious concerns about the flow of cash out of the Kabul International Airport (KBL). According to the Congressional Research Service, an estimated $4.5 billion was taken out Afghanistan in 2011. While large cash movements are typical in Afghanistan because it is a cash-based economy, these bulk cash flows raise the risk of money laundering and bulk cash smuggling tools often used to finance terrorist, narcotics, and other illicit operations. Recognizing the seriousness of this problem, a civilian-military interagency working group based at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan developed the bulk cash flow action plan in 2010 to better regulate cash flow at KBL. That same year, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) pledged to adopt and implement regulations or laws within one year to govern the bulk transfers of cash outside the country. In July 2011, SIGAR reported on U.S. government efforts to strengthen oversight over the flow of U.S. funds through the Afghan economy, including the bulk cash flow action plan.4 We initiated this review in August 2012, to follow up on concerns we raised in that report regarding implementation of the plan, particularly Operation FinTRAX an initiative to place bulk currency counters at KBL to monitor the outflow of funds from Afghanistan. We conducted a site visit to the airport to observe the use of bulk currency counters and other measures designed to monitor outflows of currency. We also interviewed U.S. officials responsible for helping the Afghans strengthen controls over the flow of cash throughout Afghanistan and Afghan officials working at KBL. We conducted our work in Kabul, Afghanistan, from September 2012 to November 2012 in accordance with SIGAR s quality control standards.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 11, 2012
Accession Number
ADA567848

Entities

Organizations

  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Airports
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Financial Intelligence
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Infrastructure
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Airports
  • International Organizations
  • Internet
  • Law
  • Law Enforcement
  • Money
  • Monitoring
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Training

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Political Science/ International Relations/ European Studies