The Taliban reportedly outsourced heavy machinery used to build World Cup stadiums in Qatar. In the process, the group extorted millions of dollars from Qatari officials.
The Telegraph claims that the Taliban used salaries linked to the peace talks to buy and then rent the equipment.
“The Taliban invested a lot in the construction of the World Cup and the tournament was a golden duck.
They were paid millions,” said a source from the British media. “Some Taliban members had between six and 10 pieces of heavy machinery each in Doha and earned up to £10,000 per machine per month.”
Qatar hosted peace talks between the Taliban and the UN/US.
A large group of Taliban officials were living in Doha during these negotiations. Qatar apparently gave these members a salary to live on its soil and even allowed them to stay in mansions around Doha. UN and US officials were reportedly aware of these payments.
Qatar changed the way it paid Taliban officials
However, the Taliban’s profits were eventually covered up by Qatar. The small Middle Eastern country initially paid Taliban members in cash.
But then it became difficult to track the payments, as Qatar opted to use direct deposits into Taliban bank accounts.
“It was an open secret in the Afghan embassy in Doha that the Taliban negotiating team and political bureau were being well paid by the Qatari regime and they invested these salaries in construction equipment for the World Cup,” one said. former senior Afghan diplomat in Doha. .
“The Taliban’s Haqqani network even used to collect money and donations from Afghans based in other Arab states and promised them that the money would be invested in Qatar World Cup projects.”
Report adds to contaminated Qatar tournament
Despite its small size, Qatar has become one of the richest countries in the world. While the nation certainly has money, they didn’t have much of a global prestige.
However, hosting peace talks and the 2022 World Cup has helped increase Qatar’s visibility.
While not necessarily illegal, the report certainly raises even more questions about the World Cup in Qatar. The tournament has already been criticized for a host of issues.
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