Qasim Rahimi, the dismissed deputy head of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, and Younus Sadat, the dismissed head of the finance department of the bank, on Saturday raised strong outrage over their firings, calling them politically motivated and against the laws of the country.
The two dismissed officials said that Ajmal Ahmadi, after assuming office as the acting governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, started consolidating power with a circle of 15 people who had "no official position at the bank."
This comes after the Central Bank of Afghanistan in a statement on Thursday said that it had suspended at least four top officials for alleged involvement in corrupt behavior. Their cases will be sent to the Attorney General's Office for further legal proceedings, the statement read.
The Central Bank of Afghanistan still insists that the decision was made in the High Council of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
Sadat and Rahimi have served in the bank for fifteen years.
Warren L. Coats, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday expressed shock over the suspension of Qasim Rahimi, the deputy head of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
He said that the dismissal poses serious threats to gains the bank the made has made over the past two decades.
“I am shocked to learn yesterday that Mr. Rahimi has been fired from his position, it is illegally executed dismissal. This is a shocking setback for Central Bank’s dramatic progress over these years, I hope that the parliament and the judicial system will scrutinize this step and hopefully reverse it,” said Coats.
“According to the law, if I have committed any violation, mistake or misuse or corruption, I must be referred to the Attorney General so that they can start their investigations and decide on my trial,” said Mohammad Qasim Rahimi, the former deputy head of Central Bank of Afghanistan.
“The documents are the most classified in their nature and they could affect the rights of other financial and monetary institutions. Therefore, if someone does not have an official position in the Central Bank of Afghanistan, he shouldn’t be provided any report,” said Sayed Younsu Sadat, dismissed head of the finance department.
Ajmal Ahmadi took charge as acting governor of the bank only twenty days ago.
Rahimi and Sadat have said that such decisions in the bank will endanger the $9 billion financial resources of the country.
In the meantime, a number of civil society institutions have also questioned the way Ahmad was appointed as the acting governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan and described the dismissals of Rahimi and Sadat as a political move.
“The head of the Central Bank of Afghanistan should be nonpolitical and all decisions related to the bank must safeguard the bank’s freedom,” said Sayed Ekram Afzali, the head of Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA).
“The deputies of the Central Bank of Afghanistan are supposed to report only to the president of Afghanistan and defend their rights, but in this case, their rights have been violated,” said Wahid Farzayee, a legal expert in Kabul.
“A number of officials at the Central Bank of Afghanistan were fired on charges of corruption. Some other employees who in a way were involved in this case were also disciplined (punished),” said Sharifullah Shegwal, a spokesman for the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
On June 2, the Central Bank said that the cases of Rahimi and Sadat have been referred to the Attorney General for legal proceedings, however, no case has been filed so far against the two officials yet.