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9/14/2022

Joint Statement by U.S. Treasury and State Department: The United States and Partners Announce Establishment of F…

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Joint Statement by U.S. Treasury and State Department: The
United States and Partners Announce Establishment of Fund for
the People of Afghanistan
September 14, 2022

The United States, through the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State, and
in coordination with international partners including the government of Switzerland and
Afghan economic experts, today announced the establishment of a fund to benefit the people
of Afghanistan, or the “Afghan Fund.”
The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan amidst
ongoing economic and humanitarian crises. Pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14064,
President Biden set a policy of enabling $3.5 billion of Afghan central bank reserves to be used
for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan while keeping them out of the hands of the
Taliban and other malign actors. The Afghan Fund will protect, preserve, and make targeted
disbursements of that $3.5 billion to help provide greater stability to the Afghan economy.
The Taliban are not a part of the Afghan Fund, and robust safeguards have been put in place
to prevent the funds from being used for illicit activity. The Afghan Fund will maintain its
account with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) based in Switzerland. The BIS is an
international financial organization that provides a range of financial services, including
banking services to central banks, monetary authorities and international financial institutions
(see www.bis.org). An external auditor will monitor and audit the Afghan Fund as required by
Swiss law.
“The people of Afghanistan face humanitarian and economic crises born of decades of
conflict, severe drought, COVID-19, and endemic corruption,” said Wendy Sherman, United
States Deputy Secretary of State. “Today, the United States and its partners take an
important, concrete step forward in ensuring that additional resources can be brought to bear
to reduce su ering and improve economic stability for the people of Afghanistan while
continuing to hold the Taliban accountable.”
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“The Afghan Fund will help mitigate the economic challenges facing Afghanistan while
protecting and preserving $3.5 billion in reserves from Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB),
Afghanistanʼs central bank, for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan,” said Wally Adeyemo,
United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. “The Talibanʼs repression and economic
mismanagement have exacerbated longstanding economic challenges for Afghanistan,
including through actions that have diminished the capacity of key Afghan economic
institutions and made the return of these funds to Afghanistan untenable. Through this Fund,
the United States will work closely with our international partners to facilitate use of these
assets to improve the lives of ordinary people in Afghanistan.”
“In response to the critical challenges facing the people of Afghanistan, the United States is
already the largest donor of humanitarian assistance,” Sherman also noted. “We have worked
with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to make available more than $1 billion in
assistance for basic services and other urgent needs, in addition to providing over $814
million in U.S. humanitarian aid directly to implementing partners to support the Afghan
people while preventing funds from benefiting the Taliban. Now, the Afghan Fund will be part
of our ongoing diplomatic and humanitarian e orts on behalf of the people of Afghanistan.”
According to the World Bank, income and economic output in Afghanistan have fallen 20-30
percent, imports have declined by approximately 40 percent, and about 70 percent of Afghan
households report they are unable to fully meet basic food or non-food needs. Disbursements
from the Afghan Fund could include keeping Afghanistan current on its debt payments to
international financial institutions, which would preserve their eligibility for development
assistance, and paying for critical imports, such as electricity.

ADDIT IONAL B ACKGROUND
Central Bank of Afghanistan (DAB)
When the Taliban took over Kabul, Afghanistanʼs central bank, DAB, lost access to its accounts
at financial institutions around the world—not just in the United States—because of the
uncertainty regarding who could authorize transactions on DABʼs accounts. Since then, the
economic situation in Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate due to the Talibanʼs poor
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economic management and failure to restore critical capabilities to DAB, such as adequate
anti-money laundering and countering terrorist finance (AML/CFT) controls.
To rebuild confidence among the international financial community, DAB must demonstrate
that it has the expertise, capacity, and independence to responsibly perform the duties of a
central bank. To move toward that goal, DAB must demonstrate that it is free from political
interference, has appropriate AML/CFT controls in place, and has undertaken a third-party
needs assessment and onboarded a third-party monitor.

The Afghan Fund
The Afghan Fund is incorporated as a Swiss foundation established to protect, preserve, and
—on a targeted basis—disburse $3.5 billion for the benefit of the Afghan people. The Afghan
Fund can also serve as a vehicle to protect and disburse other Afghan central bank foreign
reserves currently held in additional countries. These disbursements are intended to help
address the acute e ects of Afghanistan's economic and humanitarian crises by supporting
Afghanistanʼs macroeconomic and financial stability.

Location of Assets
The Afghan Fund will maintain its account with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
The BIS is an established international financial organization that provides a range of financial
services, including banking services to central banks, monetary authorities and international
financial institutions. See www.bis.org.
The BIS will act as intermediary bank and will not be involved in the governance of the Afghan
Fund or perform any related functions such as approving disbursements.

Use of the Funds
In the short-term, the Board of Trustees of the Afghan Fund will have the ability to authorize
targeted disbursements to promote monetary and macroeconomic stability and benefit the
Afghan people. This could include paying for critical imports like electricity, paying
Afghanistanʼs arrears at international financial institutions to preserve their eligibility for

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financial support, paying for essential central banking services like SWIFT payments, and
others.
In the long-term, the goal is for funds not used for these limited purposes to be preserved to
return to DAB. The United States has made clear that we will not support the return of these
funds until DAB: (1) Demonstrates its independence from political influence and interference;
(2) Demonstrates it has instituted adequate anti-money laundering and countering-thefinancing-of-terrorism (AML/CFT) controls; and (3) Completes a third-party needs assessment
and onboards a reputable third-party monitor.

Afghan Fund Governance
The Afghan Fund is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a Board of Trustees oversees the fund.
The Board currently consists of two highly qualified Afghan economic experts with relevant
macroeconomic and monetary policy experience, a U.S. government representative, and a
Swiss government representative. The Afghan Fund has the support of international partners
committed to supporting sustainable monetary and macroeconomic stability in Afghanistan.
An external auditor will monitor and audit the Afghan Fund as required by Swiss law.

Legal Basis for the Transfer of the Afghan Central Bankʼs Assets
On February 11, 2022, the President signed E.O. 14064 to help enable certain assets belonging
to DAB held in the United States to be used to benefit the Afghan people. Subsequently, the
U.S. Department of the Treasuryʼs O ice of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a license
authorizing the transfer of up to $3.5 billion of DAB funds for the benefit of the Afghan people.
Consistent with past practice and following the Taliban takeover, the Department of State
certified two individuals pursuant to Section 25B of the Federal Reserve Act as having joint
authority to receive, control, or dispose of property from the DABʼs account. Those individuals
founded the Afghan Fund as a legal entity in Switzerland.
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