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Mahmood KarzaAfghan businessman
Country:
 Afghanistan |
Content:
- Biography of Mahmoud Karzai
- Business Ventures
- Family Background
- Controversies and Allegations
- Political Ambitions
- Business Involvements and Controversies
Biography of Mahmoud Karzai
Mahmoud Karzai is an Afghan businessman who is closely associated with one of the most powerful families in Afghanistan. Although he does not engage in politics at an official level, there is no doubt that as a prominent entrepreneur and the older brother of the president, he has the ability to influence the events in Afghanistan.
Business Ventures
Mahmoud Karzai is the CEO and Chairman of Afghan Investment Company, an investment firm that was involved in the scandal surrounding the freezing of assets of Kabul Bank in 2010. He also owns restaurants in San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore, and holds a managerial position in the Kandahar-based company Afco International company. Previously, Karzai owned Afghan Auto Limited, a Toyota dealership in Afghanistan. He also has numerous American companies under the name "Helmand" and finances real estate companies from Massachusetts to Virginia.
Family Background
Mahmoud Karzai is one of the sons of Abdul Ahad Karzai, an influential Afghan politician, leader of the Popalzai tribe, and a senator in the 1960s and 1970s. Abdul Ahad Karzai was a close friend of the last monarch of Afghanistan. Mahmoud Karzai's hometown is Kandahar, which has gained notoriety in recent decades as a stronghold of the narcotics trade. He is the older brother of Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan. Ahmed Wali Karzai, another of Mahmoud's younger brothers, was a well-known politician who was assassinated in 2011, allegedly by his own bodyguard on the orders of the Taliban. The murder of Ahmed Wali Karzai led to accusations of nepotism, corruption, family feuds, and connections to the drug trade against the Karzai family.
Controversies and Allegations
Mahmoud Karzai has faced serious allegations of corruption and illegal business practices. Press reports have highlighted concerns regarding his business ties with the United States, including the financially troubled Kabul Bank, which was funded by American taxpayers. Karzai, who was a major shareholder in the bank, was accused of taking out large sums of money from the bank just before its collapse through fraudulent loan schemes. Corruption remains one of the most serious problems in Afghanistan.
Political Ambitions
In 2013, Mahmoud Karzai renounced his US citizenship in order to play a more significant role in Afghan politics. This move was seen as an indication of his interest in the upcoming presidential elections in 2014. However, he did not participate in the elections. His brother, Abdul Qayum Karzai, expressed his candidacy for the presidency but withdrew under pressure from Hamid Karzai, their brother and the former president. Abdul Qayum Karzai's association with the narcotics trade in Kandahar has been widely reported.
Business Involvements and Controversies
Mahmoud Karzai allegedly owns or leases the only cement factory in Afghanistan, Ghori Cement Factory. Journalists have raised numerous questions regarding corruption, family ties, insider deals involving Kabul Bank, hazardous working conditions, and very low wages at the factory. Additionally, he has been accused of fraudulently acquiring the coal mine "Karkar," where impoverished workers labor in appalling conditions to extract coal for the country's most influential businessmen. It was reported that a special group of Afghan parliamentarians investigating corruption related to the cement factory died during the investigation.
