U.S. militaries and the allied forces involved in purchasing fuel from Iran: SIGAR

The statement said the stolen fuel had been said to have funded terrorists and destabilized the government of Afghanistan, where “much of it was lost due to corruption at virtually every level in the Afghanistan government, including a case where the “police chief, the mayor and the provincial governor to have shared the profits.”Kabul Times reported.

Corruption, as the SIGAR said in its report, had been the most formidable obstacle to the stability of Afghanistan.

“Vendors may have obtained fuel that was of poor quality or from prohibited sources, such as Iran, due to the fact the contract did not require the vendors to submit country-of-origin documentation for the fuel they delivered,” the report added.

The report went on as saying that $2.6 million of fuel was stolen in a scam in which corrupt Afghans, who had previously been banned from military bases, would drive trucks up to the gates, siphon fuel, then swap drivers and have non-banned drivers take the trucks inside and that another Afghan company stole fuel by fraudulently obtaining U.S. government fuel credit cards.

The report didn’t spare to blame the U.S. soldiers for being involved in corruption inside Afghanistan, as it said U.S. army slacking on their duties, as in 2012, three U.S. Army service members stole 180,000 gallons of jet fuel, which they loaded onto trucks an Afghan trucking contractor owned.

“While in another case, an Army sergeant was bribed to create false documentation facilitating the theft of $10 million in fuel. Two co-conspirators hid nearly $500,000 in a pair of stereos.”

Separately, an Afghan official paid bribes to fuel depot personnel to overfill trucks, including a $5,000 bribe for $150,000 of fuel, SIGAR said.

This is the most concerning and critical event to hear from SIGAR about widespread corruption in the country, involving both Afghans and foreign forces, apart from accusing the second country for benefiting the phenomenon.

The Government of National Unity, particularly the presidential office should fully investigate into the case and if the report was true and accurate, the culprits should be brought to justice and if inaccurate, the SIGAR should be asked for not releasing such a false report, as it destroys the public minds of the Afghan people.

The main effort of the National Unity government (NUG) and its key priority is to uproot corruption alongside implementation of other priorities including fighting terrorism and restoring good governance.