HOOAC: Political Meddling Hinders Probes Into Corrupt Elements

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جمعه 6 حمل 1395 ساعت 18:11 نوشته شده توسط Mir Abed Joenda

Translations pending.

The High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOOAC) said Friday that ethnic and political meddling in the work of judicial institutions has delayed legal procedures against those involved in embezzlement and corruption in the country.

Failure to follow up on corruption cases in the ministry of urban development affairs is debatable, said Lieutenant General Sayed Ghulam Hussain Fakhri, Director General of the High Office of Anti-Corruption on Friday.

"Persistent delays have been made in these cases like other major cases of corruption," Fakhri said, referring to the corruption cases against six defendants in the ministry of urban development affairs and housing scandal who were dismissed from their posts by President Ashraf Ghani a year ago.

"Until now the court has not issued its verdict and people are not satisfied with the investigations so far," he added.

Joining the HOOAC, the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) has also criticized the delays in the implementation of justice against the criminals, calling the reluctance against the law.

Last year Ghani suspended six top officials from the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs on charges of corruption and assigned the Attoey General's Office (AGO) to probe one of Afghanistan's biggest embezzlement cases to date.

The suspended officials include Ahmad Shah Hemat, Urban Development Director, Gul Rahim Ziarmal, Plan and Policy Director, Mohammad Aminullah Qani, Head of Apartments Cohesion, Mohammad Aminullah Amin, Director of Property and Accommodation and Ahmad Nawaz Bakhtyar, Director of Housing Enterprise, Director Finance Apartments Cohesion Syed Aman Sadat.

Although, initially the govement and the legal and judicial institutions all vowed to launch a wide investigation into the issue and to wrap it up within a few months, but a year has passed since the six officials were fired and their cases are still pending.

"Political and ethnic interferences have prolonged these cases and this is a major conce," Fakhri further said.

"Those supporting these individuals have done enough work for them, this has hindered the investigations and cases remain pending, secondly the attoey general does not have enough capacity to prepare these cases in accordance with the necessities and demands of the court," MEC official Abdul Aziz Aryayee said.

The ministry of urban development affairs cases are said to be the second largest embezzlement cases in Afghanistan over the past 15 years after the infamous Kabul Bank corruption cases where more the $900 million were embezzled.

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