Mirwais Azizi and Azizi Network Exposed in Massive Money Laundering Scandal with Taliban Ties

A comprehensive investigative report by Afghanistan Green Trend (AGT), released in March 2025, has exposed Mirwais Azizi and his sprawling Azizi Network in a massive money laundering and smuggling operation with deep ties to the Taliban. The report alleges that Azizi, the founder of Azizi Group and Azizi Bank, has been orchestrating a sophisticated financial network that launders illicit funds for high-ranking Taliban leaders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Mullah Fazel Mohammad Mazloom.

The network allegedly exploits legitimate financial systems, international contracts with organizations like the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), and aviation logistics to move “dirty money” to Dubai. Key figures in the network include Sharam Gulzad, Azizi’s son-in-law and CEO of Gulzad Group, and Jawed Ludin, a former Afghan official who allegedly uses his political connections to facilitate financial misconduct.

The report highlights how Azizi Bank, already on the brink of insolvency, has been used as a primary conduit for laundering funds. Despite grand public pledges, such as a $10 billion investment in Afghanistan’s energy sector and an $816 million hospital project in Dubai, no tangible progress has been made on these commitments as of March 2025. This has raised serious doubts about the sincerity of Azizi’s promises, with the report suggesting they may be propaganda to distract from the Taliban’s failures.

The Azizi Network is also accused of using companies like the Ahmadyar Group, Kam Air, and ACCL International to disguise and transfer illicit funds. These companies allegedly exploit legitimate contracts, including those with UN agencies, to forge documents and smuggle cash on aircraft. High-ranking Taliban officials, including Mullah Fazel Mohammad Mazloom and Sirajuddin Haqqani, are cited as beneficiaries of these operations.

The report also details a history of fraudulent practices by Azizi, including a $58 million breach of contract with Sayed Rahmatullah Seddiqi and a $12 million embezzlement case investigated by Afghan authorities in 2020. Azizi’s financial empire, despite its outward appearance of success, is said to be on the verge of collapse, with Azizi Bank reporting significant losses in recent years.

The AGT report concludes by calling for urgent international scrutiny, forensic audits, and legal action to dismantle the Azizi Network and hold its members accountable. It emphasizes the need to safeguard Afghanistan’s fragile economy from exploitation and to resist the entrenchment of such corrupt networks.