Countries that donate billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan often complain about widespread corruption that impedes development. But some Afghans have been pushing back lately, pointing a finger at a particular NATO official in Kabul whose former company has drawn fire for alleged mismanagement and graft.
The firm, Aktis Strategy, was founded and run by two former British diplomats, and it oversaw development projects in Iraq, Turkey, Tunisia, Somalia, and elsewhere. But when it suddenly ran out of cash in early 2019, it left contractors and staffers stiffed and stranded, with angry creditors demanding payment that never arrived, according to former Aktis subcontractors and an investigation conducted last year by Britain’s Daily Mail.
