The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Wednesday that it had suspended Afghanistan’s access to the Fund’s resources, including around $440 million in new monetary reserves, due to a lack of clarity over the country’s government after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.
The IMF’s announcement came amid pressure from the U.S. Treasury, which holds a controlling share in the Fund, to ensure that Afghanistan’s share of a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) reserves allocation scheduled for Monday does not fall into Taliban hands.
“There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding recognition of a government in Afghanistan, as a consequence of which the country cannot access SDRs or other IMF resources,” an IMF spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The U.S. Federal Reserve holds $7 billion of the country’s reserves, including $1.2 billion in gold, while the rest is held in foreign accounts including at the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, according to the bank’s acting governor, Ajmal Ahmady, who has fled Kabul.
A Biden administration official said previously that any Afghan central bank assets held in the United States would not be made available to the Taliban.
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