An explosive report in a local Afghan newspaper claimed that many prominent Afghan leaders and officials benefited from Code-91 - an emergency fund that can only be accessed by presidential orders. 

The newspaper, Etilaaz Roz, which broke the story claimed that the emergency fund (between March 2019- March 2020)  amounting to around $25.9 million was spent on personal expenses like house rent, daily expenses, vehicle rents, and apartment purchases. 

Among the beneficiaries are alleged to be President Ashraf Ghani, former President Hamid Karzai, Ghani’s spokesperson Sediq Siddique, and many other presidential advisors. The report also claimed that many officials were given bonuses from these funds. 

Former President Karzai got around $151,000. Funds from Code 91 have little oversight to check its misuse. Earlier in 2019, a substantial amount was added to these funds. 

There has been no response from the president's office or the others to the charges so far. 

“The expenses are unprincipled and unbalanced. They are against the national budget document, against the targets that are set for the code at the beginning of every year,” Liyaqat Layiq, a reporter at Etilaat Roz, was quoted as saying by TOLOnews. 

The report also claimed that around $11.1 million was used by the NDS (the country’s intelligence agency), $2.4 million by the office of the National Security Council, and a whopping $14.6 million has been spent based on presential orders to the Administrative Office of the President.  

“The issue that this money has been spent from Code 91 is a political matter. The political leadership of Afghanistan tries to control and retain political figures and keep their political loyalty,” Nasir Taimuri, a researcher at Integrity Watch Afghanistan, was quoted by TOLOnews. 

The issue of misuse, or arbitrary use, of the Code-91, isn’t new in the Afghan government. The fact that these funds have little or no scrutiny makes it susceptible to misuse for political and personal interests.