Country's top banker flees nation: Afghanistan official

KABUL: Afghanistan's top banker, who is alleged to have played a role in the failure of the nation's largest private lender, has fled the country, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said.

Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said Fitrat had not notified the Afghan government of his resignation. But he said that Fitrat was named in a report sent on Monday to the Afghan attorney general's office as someone possibly responsible for the failure of Kabul Bank.

Fitrat told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from a Northern Virginia hotel that he left the country because his life had been threatened and that the Karzai government was refusing to prosecute those allegedly involved in fraudulent loans.

"My life has become completely endangered," Fitrat said. "Since I exposed the fraudulent practices on April 27 in parliament I have received information about threats on my life."

He said he has permanent resident status in the United States and would not be returning to Afghanistan.

The former bank governor said he asked for the Karzai government to prosecute those involved in the alleged fraud 10 months ago.

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