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Afghan President Hamid Karzai has admitted to receiving bundles of cash from Iran, calling it a form of aid.From The Telegraph:
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has admitted that his chief of staff received bundles of cash from Iran but insisted the payments were a form of aid from a friendly country.
Mr Karzai said that the "bags of money" were "done by various friendly countries to help the presidential office and to help the expenses".
He said that one or twice a year Iran gives his office up to $975,000, adding that Washington did the same and had known about the Iranian assistance for years.
Mr Karzai's comments come after a report by the New York Times said Iranian officials had been handing bundles of cash to his chief of staff Umar Daudzai in an effort to gain influence in Afghanistan and sideline NATO.
An aide to Mr Daudzai on Sunday dismissed the allegations as "rubbish".
"It's basically a presidential slush fund," a Western official told the newspaper. "Daudzai's mission is to advance Iranian interests."
» Read the full story: Hamid Karzai admits office receives 'bags of money' from Iran [Telegraph]
» Iran Is Said to Give Top Karzai Aide Cash by the Bagful [The New York Times]
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