KABUL(SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani invalidated the contract signed between Ministry of Urban Development Affairs and Khalilullah Ferozi, former Kabul Bank Chief Executive who is facing imprisonment on investing in Smart City Township project.
In a statement released by Arg (Presidential Palace), the President ordered cancellation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Ministry of Urban Development with Nabi Zada Wardak and Khalilullah Ferozi on 13th of Aqrab of the current year (November 4, 2015). It added that the MoU was signed on the basis of the legal advice of the Kabul Bank clearance committee and the good will to expedite the collection process of the loans of Kabul Bank.
“For further precision and care aimed at compatibility of this MoU with the applicable law of the land and given the binding nature of the court’s verdicts regarding the sentenced individuals under the Kabul Bank’s case, the President of Afghanistan has issued the order to urgently and thoroughly review the project”, it noted.
Based on the findings of the review, the President has taken the following decisions:
1- All parts of the court’s verdict on conviction of Khalilullah Ferozi and his liability to pay back the loans are unalterable and binding. It is binding by the text of the constitution that no institution apart from the judicial branch of the country is authorized to amend the court’s verdict.
2- Since this MoU is not binding and fails to carry the legal weight of a contract and because of the inherent weakness of its legal basis, it is null and void.
3- Regarding the 68 Jeribs of property allotted by Khalil Ferozi for construction of the project of the Ministry of Urban Development, the Kabul Bank clearance committee has been ordered to review the grounds for transferring this property as per the laws of the land to Kabul Bank as a compensation for the outstanding debts, and present their recommendations in this regard as soon as possible.
4- The Attorney General’s office is to report as soon as possible on the full enforcement of the court’s verdicts regarding those convicted in the case of Kabul Bank.
Earlier, Abdul Ali Mohammadi, Legal Advisor to the President, said a few days ago that setting free the indebtors would pave the way for them to pay their indebts. He said that setting free Ferozi would be a great option for the government to recover the money lost in the Kabul Bank scandal. The owners of the Smart City Township project claimed that they would invest $ 600 million to $ 900 million in this project that would create jobs for 2,000 citizens.
Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi, Ministry of Urban Development Affairs, said while inaugurating Smart City last week that the ministry would monitor it and the government would benefit $ 75 million from it.
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