London: Mahmoud Karzai, the brother of
Afghanistan President, has reportedly made around 500,000
pounds in eight months by buying and then reselling a luxury
villa in Dubai using a loan provided by the troubled Kabul
Bank, a British media report said.
Karzai, a high-profile businessman in Afghanistan, has
bought the house in Palm Jumeirah, the artificial island in
the Gulf off the coast of Dubai, for nearly 91 million pounds
in July 2007.
Just months after buying the property, he sold it for
about 1.76 million pounds.
Mahmoud Karzai, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's
brother, said the villa sale and loan to cover for it were
organised by former Kabul Bank chairman Sher Khan Farnood.
"Making a profit on a house is beautiful. I was so
happy to make that profit," Karzai was quoted as saying by the
Daily Telegraph.
"In my opinion if you borrow money it's not a major
issue. It's not as if you are taking money for free. He lent
it to me - you would have to ask him why he did that," he
said.
Karzai, who has not been accused of any illegality,
said that he had bought the house so he could apply for a
residency visa in Dubai, where his youngest daughter was about
to enrol at school.
Karzai owns a seven per cent stake in the Kabul Bank,
making him the third largest shareholder.
Western officials are said to be concerned about
allegations that money spent on aid is ending up, via the
bank's depositors, in property speculation in places like
Dubai rather than reinvested, the report said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 19:00