Since the capturing of Kabul, the Taliban regime has been exhorting the United States to unblock around $7 billion belonging to the Afghan central bank, which have been frozen by the US Federal Reserve in New York following the group’s takeover of Kabul.
But a major twist to the story has now emerged.
Apart from the Taliban, there are more than 150 claimants for the “frozen” money after a federal court had ordered the individual, organisation and country named as accused in the case, should pay the damages which is now worth about $7 billion – exactly the same amount under the custody of the US government.
According to a report by The New York Times, the judgement was earlier considered symbolic. But now the situation has changed as the Taliban are back in power and they are in control of all institutions of Afghanistan. Since they claim that they are the rightful heir of the frozen funds, they should now pay the families of 9/11 from the reserve money.
Taliban and 9/11 Families Fight for Billions in Frozen Afghan Funds
“The previous Taliban regime harboured, protected, and otherwise coddled al-Qaeda leaders who were behind the 9/11 attacks, and continued to do so afterwards. Thus the legal judgment against them. This judgment is now enforceable against the official successor regime,” says lawyer of the victims’ families.
The claim by the families of 9/11 victims is being made under the basis of a court ruling made nearly 10 years ago in which a list of members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban were found liable by default of the terror attacks. Following the ruling, the defendants were ordered to pay damages now worth about $7 billion. The families allege that, since the Taliban is back in power in Afghanistan, the funds are theirs by default.
According to the NYT report, the US Justice Department has been negotiating with lawyers for the 9/11 plaintiffs for a potential deal to divide the money, if the government supports their attempt to seize it.
Soon after the Taliban’s return to power, after the US withdrawal, the White House ordered the freezing of nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan Central Bank. The Taliban leaders have been making repeated calls for Washington to release the much-needed funds as the country is unable to provide its 39 million citizens with enough fuel and food for the winter months.
“If the money is the Taliban’s, shouldn’t the plaintiffs in the Sept. 11 lawsuit be entitled to seize it,” the report said. It adds that the Biden administration is now debating the answer to that question, “which presents a complex knot of national security, legal, diplomatic and political problems” .
The most important question is about the specifics of how the Biden administration can “avoid any legal requirement to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate Afghan government” in order to “use the money in the central bank account to help resolve the claim by the 9/11 families”.
But experts warn that any such a move will infuriate the cash-strapped Taliban.
The Biden administration is scheduled to tell a court by Friday what outcome would be in the national interest. At the same time the US Special Representative on Afghanistan Tom West will be talking to the Taliban leadership in Doha where the group is bound to raise the issue of frozen Afghan central bank assets.
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