Taleban made $492m in 2011 from taxes, extortion: UN
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Buy SPH photosUNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The Taleban raised US$400 million (S$492 million) last year through taxes, donations, and extorting businessmen and narcotics dealers in Afghanistan, according to a new United Nations report.
The Islamist group has also taken hundreds of millions of dollars from the billions pumped into Afghanistan for development projects, according to the report released this week by UN sanctions experts to the Security Council.
The experts estimated that Taleban raised US$400 million in the 12 months up to March.
About US$275 million went to the Taleban leadership while US$125 million was spent or misappropriated at the local level.
