Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Where does the Taliban get its money and who's funding the militant group in Afghanistan?

Where does the Taliban get its money and who's funding the militant group in Afghanistan?

Afghanistan, among poorest nations in the world, is heavily dependent on American aid
The Taliban, on the heels of a steady, monthslong military blitz, retook control of Afghanistan last week, just four months after President Biden announced he would withdraw U.S. troops from the embattled nation and nearly 20 years after the militant group was first ousted.

One of the biggest questions the Taliban has faced after sweeping so quickly into power is how it got the cash to seize control and govern the country.

Afghanistan, already one of the poorest countries in the world, is heavily dependent on American aid. About 80% of the nation's budget is funded by the U.S. and other international donors, according to John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction.

Within days of the Taliban consolidating power in Kabul, the Treasury Department froze Afghan government reserves stored in U.S. banks, depriving the group of billions of dollars in aid.

But it's unclear how effective the Treasury's restrictions will ultimately be: The Taliban operates largely outside the confines of the global financial system.

"They're awash with cash," Gretchen Peters, executive director of the Center on Illicit Networks and Transnational Organized Crime, told NPR. "The Taliban has been earning far more from trafficking drugs and other illicit activity, ranging from extortion rackets to timber trafficking, artisanal mining, kidnapping schemes, for almost two decades now."

There are different factions of the Taliban: Some, in heavy drug-producing areas in the south and west of Afghanistan such as Kandahar and Helmand, are more dependent on the drug trade to finance their operation. But others, like the ones located in the east and southeast, tend to make their money in other ways, including extortion, kidnapping and timber trafficking, Peters said.

While it's difficult to know precisely how much money the Taliban brings in each year, a recent United Nations report estimated that it's somewhere between $300 million and $1.6 billion.

"The primary sources of Taliban financing remain criminal activities, including drug trafficking and opium poppy production, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, mineral exploitation and revenues from tax collection in areas under Taliban control or influence," the report said.

Hanif Sufizada, who studied the Taliban's finances as an economic policy analyst at the Center for Afghanistan Studies, projected the group got about $416 million from drugs – Afghanistan accounted for roughly 84% of global opium production over the past five years according to the United Nations – and about $400 million from the mining of iron ore, marble, copper, gold, zinc and other metals and rare-earth minerals.

The group imposes a 10% tax on every link in the drug production chain, according to a report from the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, an independent research organization in Kabul, including on the farmers who grow the poppy, the main ingredient in opium, the labs that convert it into a drug and the traders who move the final product out of the nation.

The militant group received another $160 million through extortion and taxes; $240 million from private donors and international institutions, many of which are located in Persian Gulf Countries; $240 million from everyday consumer exports that are used to launder illicit money, such as auto parts and reassembled vehicles; and $80 million from real estate.

It's unclear whether the U.S. plans to impose additional financial sanctions on Afghanistan to target the Taliban.

Asked Tuesday what actions the U.S. intends to take to ensure the safety of women in Afghanistan, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, "There are obviously issues related to sanctions." He declined to elaborate further.

"I want to be able to have our team communicate directly to the Taliban both what the costs and disincentives are for certain types of action and what our expectations are," Sullivan said.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
JD Vance Warns Europe Faces “Civilizational Suicide” Over Open Borders and Speech Limits
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
×