KABUL - The appellate court in capital rejected the Kabul Bank case for a fourth time this week, pumping the brakes on a re-prosecution being led up by the Attorney General's office and one that was initiated by President Ashraf Ghani as his first major step to combat corruption in Afghanistan.
The case was submitted to the appellate court after the Attorney General's office was ordered by a presidential decree to reopen the case. Since then, law enforcement officials have simultaneously undertaken efforts to apprehend the suspects in the case that remain at large, some of them abroad, such as former Milli Bank Chairman, Muhibullah Safai, and New Kabul Bank Chairman, Massoud Musa Ghazi. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has reported that it is working with Interpol to track and arrest the men.
The Kabul Bank case received international attention in 2010 and 2011, when there was a depositor panic in response to revelations that over 900 million USD had been embezzled by top executives at the bank. President Ghani has given the Attorney General a month and a half to prosecute the case.
The Attorney General's office was able to refer the case to the appellate court according to the timeframe set by the president, but the court of appeal rejected as it had already done three time before.
"In the perspective of the Attorney General, there is no problem with the case, unfortunately, it is the fourth time that the appellate court has rejected it," Attorney General spokesman Basir Azizi said on Monday. "We will soon refer the case to the appellate court after completion of the reassessments."
So far the Kabul police have arrested only seven of the 18 suspects being brought in for the re-prosecution. Two executives of the bank - Sher Khan Farnood and Khalilullah Ferozi - are aid to be in jail, but many others have fled the country.
"The Police are conducting their job in this respect and those individuals who fled the country will be arrested in joint support with the Interpol, and this depends on those countries where these individuals have fled," MoI deputy spokesman Najibullah Danish said.
The special court in Kabul had sentenced Muhibullah Safai and Massoud Musa Ghazi to three years imprisonment, but they were released on bail on behalf of the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The two men left the country after President Ghani issued his order to reopen the bank case.
"Chiefs of the Mille Bank and New Kabul Bank were released on bail by credible institutions and haven't returned to the country and still they are on the run," Azizi said.
On the basis of the presidential order, the appeal court is obliged issue the final decision on the case within 45 days. Based on the presidential deadline, the attorney general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the central bank were also charged with recuperating the money that was stolen by the bank executives, much of which has been transferred abroad. (Tolonews)