Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that once or twice a year, Iran gives his office $700,000 to $975,000 for official presidential expenses and that Washington also provides "bags of money" because his office lacks funds. The New York Times reported that Iran was giving bags of cash to the president's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, to buy his loyalty and promote Iranian interests in Afghanistan.
Sources quoted as saying the cash amounted to a slush fund that Karzai and Daudzai had used to pay Afghan lawmakers, tribal elders and even Taliban commanders to secure their loyalty.