Once again shenanigans on President Obama’s watch are cleaned up by President Trump.
[ToloNews] Former Afghan politician Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani was sentenced to three years of probation and six months of home confinement after he "pleaded guilty to theft of public money, admitting he received over $100,000 in government benefits," said Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a statement on Wednesday. The former provincial governor of Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
and former chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) admitted to "concealing and repeatedly lying to the Social Security Administration about his foreign travel and residency," the report said.
The statement said that Nuristani pleaded guilty on December 11, 2019, to theft of public money, admitting that he received over $100,000 in government benefits by concealing foreign travel and residency between July, 2015, and December 2018.
Nuristani admitted that he applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration in July 2015, it said, adding that He also acknowledged that he knew an SSI recipient must reside within the United States, and that "he was required to report any travel outside of the United States lasting more than 30 days."
In September 2018, President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money...appointed Nuristani to the Meshrano Jirga (upper house of parliament).
Nuristani received SSI at his claimed residence in El Cajon, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, while serving as head of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission and as an Afghan senator.
"Make no mistake, no one is above the law in Afghanistan or the United States, no matter how prominent or powerful they may be. Our work in this case demonstrates that SIGAR and its partner agencies are fully committed to this principle. Just because someone can get away with criminality in Afghanistan, he or she should not think the same applies here in the United States," said Special Inspector General John F. Sopko.
Nuristani was head of the IEC from August 2013 to March 2016 and was heading the election commission during the controversial 2014 presidential polls which ended up with the shared National Unity Government.
Related:
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani: 2019-12-16 Ex-Politician Nuristani Pleads Guilty of SSI Fraud in US Court
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani: 2014-09-12 Afghan political crisis deepens as Abdullah claims victory ahead of vote audit results
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani: 2014-06-15 Deadly attacks mar high turnout at Afghan vote
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani: 2019-12-16 Ex-Politician Nuristani Pleads Guilty of SSI Fraud in US Court
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani: 2014-09-12 Afghan political crisis deepens as Abdullah claims victory ahead of vote audit results
Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani: 2014-06-15 Deadly attacks mar high turnout at Afghan vote