Fund for the Afghan People

The Fund for the Afghan People (the Afghan Fund) is a Swiss not-for-profit foundation established in September 2022. It holds and invests assets in which Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), Afghanistan's central bank, retains the beneficial interest. Its purpose is to protect and use those assets for the benefit of the Afghan people while keeping them outside the control of the Taliban authorities. The arrangement is one response to central-bank reserve immobilisation, not a final legal disposition of every frozen Afghan reserve.

Origin

After the Taliban took Kabul in August 2021, DAB lost access to reserves held abroad, as described in Afghanistan central bank reserve freeze (2021-present). In September 2022, the United States announced the transfer of USD 3.5 billion from assets held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the new foundation. The Bank for International Settlements provides banking services and custody; it is not a trustee and does not decide disbursements. A four-member board governs the foundation under its statute, with Afghan, Swiss and United States representation. DAB remains the beneficial owner, while the foundation holds legal title and exercises its own governance authority.

The Fund's statement of 19 August 2026 records a board meeting on 16 June 2026 and approval of its audited 2025 financial statements. The Fund reported financial assets of USD 4.11 billion at 31 December 2025, compared with USD 3.94 billion a year earlier. These are dated foundation disclosures, not a current balance. The board also approved a disbursement policy; that decision does not establish an actual disbursement. Return of assets to DAB depends on conditions and board decisions specified in the governing arrangements, rather than occurring automatically on demand.

Assessment

The foundation's stated purposes include preserving the assets and supporting monetary and macroeconomic stability. Whether withholding reserves from DAB protected them or aggravated Afghanistan's economic crisis remains contested. The United States framed the structure as protection against misuse; Taliban authorities rejected the exclusion. Neither position resolves the separate questions of ownership, custody, board authority, sovereign immunity and humanitarian effect.

See also

Da Afghanistan Bank · Afghanistan central bank reserve freeze (2021-present) · Central-bank reserve immobilisation · Central-bank reserve immobilisation and confiscation · Sovereign immunity of central bank assets · Taliban · Economic statecraft

Sources

• Fund for the Afghan People, current record (accessed 30 July 2026).
• Afghan Fund current statute (accessed 30 July 2026).
• United States Treasury and State Department announcement (accessed 30 July 2026).
• Bank for International Settlements statement, 14 September 2022 (accessed 30 July 2026).
• Fund for the Afghan People, 'Statement and summary of decisions of the Board meeting of 16 June 2026' (19 August 2026), pp. 1-2.