Trazhidie Kabul Bank

A Brief Summary of the Book The Tragedy of Kabul Bank is the story of a massive fraud, deception and betrayal by a group of crony capitalist aided and abetted by the then highest political authorities of Afghanistan. It is an expose of rampant greed and excessive risk taking that shocked the world and caused enormous damage to Afghanistan's economy and image. Tragedy of Kabul Bank is narrative of a notorious case of corruption in post-Taliban Afghanistan, recipient of the largest foreign aid since European reconstruction. The Tragedy of Kabul Bank is a minute by minute account of multiple crisis occurring at the same time and in quick succession and the panic that precipitated the largest bank run the country had ever seen before. It is also an astonishing story of sacrifice and bravery by staff of the Central Bank who faithfully investigated members of the most powerful mafia in order to track and recover the stolen fund, but fell prey themselves. As the then Governor of the Central Bank, Fitrat struggled hard against impossible odds, but failed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Faced with imminent threats to his safety, he fled to the United States in June 2011. He and his innocent colleagues at the Central Bank became the subject of persecution by the ruling cliques experiencing enormous pain and suffering that has continued to this day. The alleged perpetrators who stole nearly one billion dollars of depositors' money and caused the bank's downfall largely escaped justice. Many of them including relatives of political elites were not even in the prosecution list and received no verdict. The most shocking episode came when President Karzai invited the alleged perpetrators for a luncheon in the Presidential Palace and instead of sending them to prison assured them of his unwavering support. The failure to prosecute the perpetrators became a major source of discontent for the international donor community and the Afghan people alike.

A Brief Summary of the Book The Tragedy of Kabul Bank is the story of a massive fraud, deception and betrayal by a group of crony capitalist aided and abetted by the then highest political authorities of Afghanistan. It is an expose of rampant greed and excessive risk taking that shocked the world and caused enormous damage to Afghanistan's economy and image. Tragedy of Kabul Bank is narrative of a notorious case of corruption in post-Taliban Afghanistan, recipient of the largest foreign aid since European reconstruction. The Tragedy of Kabul Bank is a minute by minute account of multiple crisis occurring at the same time and in quick succession and the panic that precipitated the largest bank run the country had ever seen before. It is also an astonishing story of sacrifice and bravery by staff of the Central Bank who faithfully investigated members of the most powerful mafia in order to track and recover the stolen fund, but fell prey themselves. As the then Governor of the Central Bank, Fitrat struggled hard against impossible odds, but failed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Faced with imminent threats to his safety, he fled to the United States in June 2011. He and his innocent colleagues at the Central Bank became the subject of persecution by the ruling cliques experiencing enormous pain and suffering that has continued to this day. The alleged perpetrators who stole nearly one billion dollars of depositors' money and caused the bank's downfall largely escaped justice. Many of them including relatives of political elites were not even in the prosecution list and received no verdict. The most shocking episode came when President Karzai invited the alleged perpetrators for a luncheon in the Presidential Palace and instead of sending them to prison assured them of his unwavering support. The failure to prosecute the perpetrators became a major source of discontent for the international donor community and the Afghan people alike.

Abdul Q Fitrat has served as a Consultant Economist with the International Monetary Fund, Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank, First Deputy Governor and finally Governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan during 1995-2011. He led the successful transformation of the Central Bank of Afghanistan into a modern central bank organization and managed the initial stages of the Kabul Bank crisis which was by far the largest financial scandal in the history of Afghanistan.