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The New York Times identifies Rahmatullah Azizi as a key part of the bonus scheme puzzle. According to US and Afghan officials, he handed over money from the Russian Military Intelligence Service (GRU) to Taliban-linked fighters for several years for killing US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Six months ago, Azizi’s relatives and accomplices were registered after security services discovered the bond scheme. However, it turned out that Azizi himself escaped from Afghanistan and is probably in Russia. Authorities found around half a million dollars in cash at one of their houses in Kabul.
The White House denied that President Donald Trump had been informed of the media’s findings in late June that intelligence reported that Russian agents had offered compensation to Taliban-linked fighters for the murder of troops of the led coalition. for the United States in Afghanistan. Later it emerged that this information had been provided to the President in writing in February.
Details of Azizi’s role in the bonus scheme were confirmed in dozens of interviews with US and Afghan officials familiar with intelligence, as well as with his neighbors and friends, business partners. They all did not want to reveal their identities, writes The New York Times.
Azizi was the main intermediary in the collection of cash in Russia: the intelligence documents mention various payments of “hundreds of thousands of dollars each”.
This money was generally divided into smaller amounts and flowed to Afghanistan through several smaller countries in the region.
According to Afghan officials, 100,000 were offered for a killed coalition soldier. dollars (86.98 thousand euros).
According to The New York Times, it is unclear how the money was distributed to the Taliban fighters who prepared the attacks, what level of coordination took place. But officials say the network has become increasingly ambitious and has contacted top Taliban leaders – potential targets have been discussed.
When the United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, it initially appeared that Russia was cooperating with US forces, it was interested in defeating the terrorist group Al Qaeda. However, in recent years, Moscow has moved closer to the Taliban.
United States intelligence reports that Russia paid the money to the Taliban during a sensitive conflict, when the United States negotiated an agreement with the Taliban that would lead to the withdrawal of US forces from the United States.
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