KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s nominee for agriculture minister in his new Cabinet is on an Interpol wanted list for tax evasion in Estonia, a fact Ghani’s spokesman said was unknown to his office at the time of his nomination.
Interpol’s website lists Mohammad Yaqub Haidari, 52, as wanted in Estonia for “large-scale tax evasion, fraudulent conversion” in cases dating back to 2003.
A spokesman for Ghani, Nazifullah Salarzai, said on Saturday the presidential office was unaware Haidari had any legal troubles but was investigating.Although Haidari has been on the wanted list for years, it was not widely known or reported in Afghanistan.Ghani, who was sworn in as president last year to replace long-time leader Hamid Karzai, has vowed to root out widespread corruption and said he would choose his ministers based on their qualifications, not their connections.
Afghanistan was ranked as the world’s fourth most corrupt country last year by Transparency International. It has topped the list in previous years.
