Topline: Two bureaus in the U.S. State Department failed to properly track $293 million of humanitarian aid delivered to Afghanistan, meaning the funds could have ended up supporting the Taliban terrorist group, according to a new federal audit.
Key facts: The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) could not prove that they performed required background checks on Afghani nonprofits before giving them federal funds.
That means there is an “increased risk” that U.S. taxpayer money went to groups who send cash to the Taliban or support its mission, according to the audit.
Over 1,000 new nonprofits have been registered in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in August 2021, and U.S. officials say they’ve “heard rumors” that “many” of them have connections to the violent extremist group.
Auditors asked the two agencies to show documents demonstrating that they properly vetted the nonprofits who received U.S. aid. The INL only had documents for three of 22 required background checks, and the DRL could only show three of seven documents.
Either the agencies never performed the required “risk assessments” or they did not keep records of the assessments, which auditors said could violate the Federal Records Act.
It’s possible that even more than $293 million was improperly tracked. The audit only covers spending between March and November 2022.
Auditors said the three other State Department bureaus working in Afghanistan are following proper protocols.
Background: This is far from the first time auditors have raised concerns over the $17.9 billion the U.S. has sent to Afghanistan since 2021.
That includes the $2.6 billion that the United Nations had sent to humanitarian groups, which a March inspector general report found yields a profit for the Taliban when the U.S. currency gets exchanged for afghani currency.
One month later, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko testified to Congress that he could not guarantee that U.S. aid was not being diverted to terrorists.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: If a federal agency cannot ensure that taxpayer money is not supporting terrorism, it should not be entrusted with the money in the first place.
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