WASHINGTON — Alarmed by an exodus of money from Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials are trying to constrict a flow of cash through the country’s main airport, thought to be a conduit for drug proceeds and diverted foreign aid.
The plan, part of an effort to monitor an outflow of money thought to exceed $1 billion a year, centers on the installation of U.S.- developed currency counters at the Kabul airport. The devices would record serial numbers on bills to determine whether money being carried out of the country has been siphoned from aid funds flowing in, U.S. and Afghan officials said.
Authorities also said they intend to eliminate an arrangement that has allowed top government officials and other well-connected Afghans to board planes — even while carrying suitcases packed with cash — without declaring the transfers or being searched.
Concern over corruption in Afghanistan — where the United States is spending tens of billions of dollars as part of the war effort — has become a major source of contention between Washington and Kabul. The Washington Post
