The Afghan Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will hold a special trial for the Kabul Bank case in the coming weeks, overriding a previous decision by an appeals court in Kabul to reject the case.

The Attorney General's office, which has spearheaded the reopening of the infamous corruption case by order of President Ashraf Ghani, turned to the highest court in the country after the appellate court said there were problems with the case.

The decision by the Supreme Court to hold a special trial was welcomed by Basir Azizi, the Attorney General's spokesman. "The special trial will speed up the case and the court has the legal authority to take action to evaluate the case," Aziz said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Supreme Court said that the Kabul Bank case, which involves a number of prominent Afghan bankers and officials along with the embezzlement of over 900 million USD, is a top priority for the Court.

"The decision we made was the result of the meetings and we have the details and I will present the details of the meetings to the president when appropriate," Chief Justice Abdul Rashid Rashid said.

President Ashraf Ghani, setting the tone for his new administration early on, gave the Attorney General's office a month and a half to get the case prosecuted. But already over three weeks have passed and a number of the men accused of involvement in the corruption scandal have not yet been arrested and no court hearing has been held.

"We hope that something will be done in the coming fifteen days, the court meetings will be held, the escapers will be arrested and the men that the ministries vouched for will be presented to the court," Basir Azizi said.

The head of the Milli Bank and the New Kabul Bank were both able to flee the country under the pretense of official leave immediately following President Ghani's decree reopening the case against them. The two men were allowed to leave the country based on guarantees provided by the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank.

The Attorney General's office has called on the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank to get the accused back to Afghanistan, but to no avail. The men have been warned that if they do not show in court, then a ruling will be issued in their absence.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/2815

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