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Afghan Embassy Requests Interpol Arrest Former President For Stealing Public Funds

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Michael Ginsberg Congressional Correspondent
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The Afghan embassy in Tajikistan requested that Interpol arrest former president Ashraf Ghani on charges that he stole public funds to aid his escape from the country.

Ghani fled Afghanistan for Tajikistan on Sunday along with several other government officials. The embassy requested the arrests of Ghani, former National Security Advisor Hamdallah Mohib, and top aide Fazal Mahmood Fazli on Wednesday, TOLOnews reported Wednesday. (RELATED: Afghan President’s Departure Paves Path Of Power For Taliban Leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar)

The Russian government claimed on Monday that Ghani and the other officials fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash.

Despite the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, including the presidential palace, first vice president Amrullah Saleh is claiming the Afghan presidency under the country’s 2004 constitution. Saleh’s whereabouts are also unknown, but photographs suggest that he is in the northern Panjshir Valley. The Panjshir Valley was a stronghold of anti-Taliban resistance in the 1990s, according to France 24.

Saleh claimed to be “reaching out to all leaders to secure their support and consensus” in governing on Tuesday.

Saleh’s photo now hangs in the Tajikistan embassy, according to TOLOnews.

Ghani, a former World Bank economist, was elected president of Afghanistan in 2014. He previously served as the country’s Finance Minister.

The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that Ghani and his family are in the country, where they will remain on “humanitarian grounds.”