The U.S. watchdog overseeing assistance to Afghanistan has stated that the Taliban do not possess any legal claim to the billions of dollars in aid allocated for the nation. This assertion stems from the fact that the Taliban is not recognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and faces ongoing sanctions.

In a report released on Friday, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) recommended that the Trump administration and Congress should consider retrieving nearly $4 billion that has been set aside for Afghanistan, returning it to U.S. government “custody and control.” In 2022, the U.S. government had transferred $3.5 billion of Afghan central bank assets that were previously frozen in the United States to a Swiss-based initiative named the Fund for the Afghan People. This fund has reportedly increased to nearly $4 billion since that transfer.

While no payments have yet been made from this fund directly to Afghans, it aims to help stabilize and protect their economy. As stated in the report, “The Taliban seeks access to these funds even though they lack any legal entitlement to them, as they are not recognized by the U.S. as the governing body of Afghanistan and are listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization, subject to both U.S. and U.N. sanctions.”

In response, Afghanistan’s Economy Ministry highlighted that more than $9 billion of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves remain frozen and deemed any potential U.S. actions regarding these reserves as unacceptable. The ministry called on the global community to restore the funds to the Afghan central bank to ensure the country’s economic stability, asserting that U.S. expenditures have not significantly impacted Afghanistan’s economy.

This report follows President Trump’s prior decision to freeze foreign aid for 90 days to reassess whether ongoing projects align with his policies. Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, approximately $3.71 billion has been spent there, primarily directed towards U.N. agencies. The report noted that an additional $1.2 billion is still available for potential distribution.

Although U.S. humanitarian aid may have helped prevent widespread famine amid an economic crisis, it has not deterred the Taliban from hostage-taking, undermining the rights of women and girls, curtailing media freedoms, allowing the nation to serve as a refuge for terrorism, or targeting former Afghan officials, the watchdog concluded.

According to the report, the U.S. remains the foremost donor to Afghanistan; however, a significant portion of the funds tends to be taxed or diverted. Chris Borgeson, the deputy inspector general for audits and inspections at SIGAR, previously remarked, “The further the money moves from the source, the lower the transparency.”