KABUL, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday ordered the release of a prominent presidential aide two hours after his arrest on corruption charges, according to two officials in the office of Afghanistans attorney general.
The release capped a comedy of errors in which the attorney generals office first announced the arrest of the official, Noorullah Delawari, on corruption charges, then convened a news conference to detail the charges against him. By the time the news conference took place, however, the offices spokesman, Amanullah Eman, said that the announcement had been a misunderstanding and that Mr. Delawari had been questioned rather than charged.
Between the announcement and the retraction, the two high-ranking officials in the attorney generals office said, Mr. Karzai had called Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko and ordered Mr. Delawari released.
A ministerial-level presidential adviser on banking and the private sector, Mr. Delawari, 64, leads the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency and is a former governor of the Central Bank, as well as a current member of the banks board. He is the most prominent official currently serving in Mr. Karzais government to be arrested on corruption charges, albeit briefly.
Last year, Mr. Karzai intervened to win the release of Mohammed Zia Salehi, head of administration for the presidents National Security Council, who faced charges of soliciting a bribe. Mr. Salehi had been arrested after an investigation by American-supported corruption agencies, and was also released after Mr. Karzai telephoned Mr. Aloko. All charges against Mr. Salehi were eventually dropped.
A spokesman for Mr. Karzai did not respond to requests for comment on Mr. Delawari.
I heard the president was extremely displeased and felt they should never have announced this and ruined someones reputation, Mr. Delawari said in a telephone interview after his release. He added, however, that it did not appear to him that Mr. Karzai had ordered his release, because he was simply held for four hours for questioning.
I was being kept in an office under investigation, he said. I dont think it required the presidents action to release me. Although as a minister-adviser to the president, they should have gone through the presidents office in the first place.
Some officials in the attorney generals office saw the matter differently, however. Mr. Delawari was brought to the attorney generals office, and after two hours Mr. Aloko got a call from Mr. Karzai to release him as soon as possible, said an official who was present when the call came in, but spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.
Unfortunately when it comes to high-ranking government officials, we cant do anything, said another official, requesting anonymity for the same reason.
Mr. Delawaris brief arrest came a day after the arrest of a former member of Mr. Karzais cabinet, a former minister of transport and aviation, Enayatullah Qasimi, also on corruption charges. The two arrests were both related to an investigation into corruption in contracting for Ariana Afghan Airlines, the state-owned carrier.
In Mr. Qasimis case, he is charged with embezzlement in the governments loss of $9 million in bad deals related to the purchase of new aircraft for the airline. Under Afghan law, embezzlement includes mismanagement of government funds as well misappropriation of them.
The charges against Mr. Delawari were also of embezzlement, in his case accused of approving, through the investment commission he heads, the hiring of six Lufthansa aviation consultants by Ariana, at a cost of $3 million for one year, Mr. Delawari said. Investigators wanted to know why less expensive consultants could not have been hired, he added.
Its sad because you cant do anything in Afghanistan, Mr. Delawari said. If you make a mistake, its considered a crime.
Although he said he had never actually been charged despite the claims by authorities earlier in the day he said officials told him that the case is continuing.
Mr. Delawari, a dual Afghan and American citizen, is highly regarded in the business community and has a reputation as an opponent of corruption. He returned to Afghanistan in 2002 after having spent most of his life in the United States, where he had a career as a banking executive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/asia/30kabul.html?_r=1
The release capped a comedy of errors in which the attorney generals office first announced the arrest of the official, Noorullah Delawari, on corruption charges, then convened a news conference to detail the charges against him. By the time the news conference took place, however, the offices spokesman, Amanullah Eman, said that the announcement had been a misunderstanding and that Mr. Delawari had been questioned rather than charged.
Between the announcement and the retraction, the two high-ranking officials in the attorney generals office said, Mr. Karzai had called Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko and ordered Mr. Delawari released.
A ministerial-level presidential adviser on banking and the private sector, Mr. Delawari, 64, leads the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency and is a former governor of the Central Bank, as well as a current member of the banks board. He is the most prominent official currently serving in Mr. Karzais government to be arrested on corruption charges, albeit briefly.
Last year, Mr. Karzai intervened to win the release of Mohammed Zia Salehi, head of administration for the presidents National Security Council, who faced charges of soliciting a bribe. Mr. Salehi had been arrested after an investigation by American-supported corruption agencies, and was also released after Mr. Karzai telephoned Mr. Aloko. All charges against Mr. Salehi were eventually dropped.
A spokesman for Mr. Karzai did not respond to requests for comment on Mr. Delawari.
I heard the president was extremely displeased and felt they should never have announced this and ruined someones reputation, Mr. Delawari said in a telephone interview after his release. He added, however, that it did not appear to him that Mr. Karzai had ordered his release, because he was simply held for four hours for questioning.
I was being kept in an office under investigation, he said. I dont think it required the presidents action to release me. Although as a minister-adviser to the president, they should have gone through the presidents office in the first place.
Some officials in the attorney generals office saw the matter differently, however. Mr. Delawari was brought to the attorney generals office, and after two hours Mr. Aloko got a call from Mr. Karzai to release him as soon as possible, said an official who was present when the call came in, but spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.
Unfortunately when it comes to high-ranking government officials, we cant do anything, said another official, requesting anonymity for the same reason.
Mr. Delawaris brief arrest came a day after the arrest of a former member of Mr. Karzais cabinet, a former minister of transport and aviation, Enayatullah Qasimi, also on corruption charges. The two arrests were both related to an investigation into corruption in contracting for Ariana Afghan Airlines, the state-owned carrier.
In Mr. Qasimis case, he is charged with embezzlement in the governments loss of $9 million in bad deals related to the purchase of new aircraft for the airline. Under Afghan law, embezzlement includes mismanagement of government funds as well misappropriation of them.
The charges against Mr. Delawari were also of embezzlement, in his case accused of approving, through the investment commission he heads, the hiring of six Lufthansa aviation consultants by Ariana, at a cost of $3 million for one year, Mr. Delawari said. Investigators wanted to know why less expensive consultants could not have been hired, he added.
Its sad because you cant do anything in Afghanistan, Mr. Delawari said. If you make a mistake, its considered a crime.
Although he said he had never actually been charged despite the claims by authorities earlier in the day he said officials told him that the case is continuing.
Mr. Delawari, a dual Afghan and American citizen, is highly regarded in the business community and has a reputation as an opponent of corruption. He returned to Afghanistan in 2002 after having spent most of his life in the United States, where he had a career as a banking executive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/asia/30kabul.html?_r=1
