Karzai's Brother Tied To Corrupt Afghan Land Deals
In Afghanistan, the theft of public and private land is a growing form of corruption. President Hamid Karzai has vowed to tackle the vexing issue.
"We should streamline and rationalize our rules, regulations and procedures, so that government can work smoothly, free of corruption, and without arbitrary decision-making," he said last week in London during a conference on the future of Afghanistan.
But one obstacle to the president's vision is his own brother, who is part of the problem.
The spoils of corruption can be seen several times a week at Kabul's tiny airport: bags of money heading out of the country.
Kirk Meyer is the top American corruption investigator in Afghanistan. He heads a team that works from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that includes agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Treasury Department.
In one instance, he says, his team was told a high-ranking official took $52 million to Dubai in one trip.
Land 'Given Away'
The money leaving Afghanistan, says Meyer and others, is increasingly coming from land grabs. Government officials misuse the law to take control of public and even private land for development — and developers and corrupt officials split the profits, Meyer says.
The Taliban is using the land-grab issue as a recruiting tool.
The land grabs started not long after Karzai came to power six years ago, according to Ahmad Nader Nadery of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
Some Kabul residents were evicted from their property. And Nadery says the land was made available for a fraction of the cost to the president's political allies.
"It was pretty much given away," Nadery says.
The government set up a commission to investigate, and recommendations were made to compensate those who lost property, says Nadery.
"None of those recommendations of the commission of inquiry was met. The president failed to implement them properly. Those powerful people still [have] those lands," he says.
Complaints to the Human Rights Commission about land grabs have doubled in the past two years. Last year, there were more than 500 complaints from across the country.
President's Brother
U.S. and Afghan officials say that the man at the center of the land grabs in one province is the president's brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, who chairs the provincial council in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.
He has also been accused of using his influence to help opium traffickers, an allegation that he has denied.
Ahmed Wali Karzai didn't return repeated calls left at his office by NPR to discuss the land issue.
A State Department adviser in Kandahar, Todd Greentree, says that portions of land were transferred by signature to Ahmed Wali Karzai, or elements under his control.
Greentree says Ahmed Wali Karzai was able to grab the lands because of his political connections.
"To the extent that you want to question its legitimacy or not, he was operating as a designee of the president, as the president's political representative to the south," Greentree says.
In one case, the provincial council seized land in Kandahar belonging to the Afghan defense ministry; it was developed into a gated residential community.
In another case, the provincial council took over water rights on land in Kandahar from a local tribe.
"This matters because this is the desert," says Greentree. "Water is the most valuable resource after land. Kandahar is Chinatown," he says.
In that Jack Nicholson movie, set in 1930s Los Angeles, powerful figures try to secure water rights on land outside the city. That is akin to what's happening now in Kandahar, says Greentree.
"A political mafia gets control of the water resource and knows where it's going to distribute so they buy up and acquire all the land around it and then become fabulously wealthy and powerful as a result. ... That's the underlying story," he says.
Resentment Growing
Such stories are leading to rising anger in the Afghan Parliament.
One lawmaker, Sardar Mohammad Rahman Oghli, says through an interpreter that President Karzai's re-election last fall was a victory for corruption.
"I congratulate Karzai's victory to these people, to drug smugglers, to land grabbers," he says.
Rahman Oghli says land grabs also are becoming a problem in Faryab, the remote northern province he represents.
He doubts the Afghan government will do much about it, and he criticizes the Americans, too.
"If they had been honest in the fight against corruption, they wouldn't have helped a corrupt and incompetent government like Karzai's get elected," he says.
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MELISSA BLOCK, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
I'm Robert Siegel.
And now a story about a growing form of corruption in Afghanistan: The theft of public and private land. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has vowed to tackle that issue. Here he is speaking last week in London.
President HAMID KARZAI (Afghanistan): We should streamline and rationalize our rules, the regulations and procedures so that government can work smoothly, free of corruption and arbitrary decision-making.
SIEGEL: But here's one obstacle to the president's vision, his own brother is part of the problem, as NPR's Tom Bowman reports.
TOM BOWMAN: The spoils of corruption can be seen several times a week at Kabul's tiny airport: bags of money heading out of the country.
Mr. KIRK MEYER (U.S. Investigator, Afghanistan): In one case, a high-ranking official, we were told, had brought $52 million to Dubai in one trip.
BOWMAN: That's Kirk Meyer. He's the top American corruption investigator in Afghanistan. He runs a team out of the U.S. Embassy that includes agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Treasury Department.
The money leaving Afghanistan, says Meyer and others, is increasingly coming from land grabs. Government officials misuse the law to take control of public and even private land for development.
Mr. MEYER: And the developers and the corrupt officials split the profits.
BOWMAN: Here's how it works. The land grabs started not long after Karzai came to power six years ago, that's according to Nader Nadery with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. Some Kabul residents were evicted from their property. And Nadery says the land was made available for a fraction of the cost to political allies of President Karzai.
Mr. NADER NADERY (Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission): It was pretty much given away.
BOWMAN: A commission was set up to investigate. Recommendations were made to compensate those who lost property, says Nadery.
Mr. NADERY: None of the recommendations of the commission of inquiry was met, and the president failed to implement them properly. Those powerful people are still having those lands.
BOWMAN: Complaints about land grabs to the Human Rights Commission have doubled in the last two years. This past year, there were more than 500 complaints all across the country.
U.S. and Afghan officials say the man at the center of these land grabs in one province is President Karzai's brother. He's Ahmed Wali Karzai and he chairs a provincial council in Kandahar. He's also been accused of using his influence to help opium traffickers, but he strongly denies that. Ahmed Wali Karzai didn't return repeated calls left at his office by NPR.
A State Department adviser in Kandahar, Todd Greentree, explains how the land grabs happened.
Mr. TODD GREENTREE (Adviser, State Department): Portions were actually just basically, you know, transferred over by signature.
BOWMAN: Transferred over to who?
Mr. GREENTREE: Transferred over to control of AWK, Ahmed Wali Karzai, or elements under his control.
BOWMAN: Greentree says Ahmed Wali Karzai was able to grab the lands because of his political connections.
Mr. GREENTREE: To the extent that you want to question its legitimacy or not, he was operating as a designee of the president, as the president's political representative to the south.
BOWMAN: In one case, land in Kandahar belonging to the Afghan Defense Ministry was seized by the provincial council and developed into a gated residential community. In another case, water rights on land in Kandahar were taken over by the provincial council from a local tribe.
Again, Todd Greentree.
Mr. GREENTREE: This matters because this is the desert. Water is the most valuable resource after land. Kandahar is "Chinatown."
BOWMAN: "Chinatown," the movie starring Jack Nicholson movie and set in 1930s Los Angeles. It's about political figures trying to secure water rights on land outside the city. That's about what's happening now in Kandahar, says Greentree.
Mr. GREENTREE: A political mafia gets control of the water resource and knows where it's going to distribute. So they buy up and acquire all the land around it and then become fabulously wealthy and powerful as a result. Well, that's what the story is. That's the underlying story.
BOWMAN: Such stories are leading to rising anger in the country's parliament. One lawmaker, Sardar Mohammad Rahman Oghli, says through an interpreter, that President Karzai's reelection last summer was a victory for corruption.
Mr. SARDAR MOHAMMAD RAHMAN OGHLI (Lawmaker): (Through Translator) I congratulate Karzai's victory to these people: to drug smugglers, to land grabbers.
BOWMAN: Rahman Oghli says land grabs are also becoming a problem in the remote northern province he represents. He doubts the Afghan government will do much about it, and he criticizes the Americans, too.
Mr. OGHLI: (Through Translator) If they had been honest in the fight against corruption, they wouldn't have helped a corrupt and incompetent government like Karzai's government get elected.
BOWMAN: If anyone is helped by all this, it's the Taliban. They're using the land grab issue as a recruiting tool.
Tom Bowman, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
