Mahmud Karzai

Who is Mahmud Karzai?

Mahmood Karzai, also spelled Mahmud Karzai, or Mahmoud Karzai, is an Afghan businessman, CEO and Chairman of the Board for the Afghan Investment Company who is closely tied to the Kabul Bank scandal and other controversies. He is the brother of Ahmed Wali Karzai a figure who was killed by his bodyguard in Afghanistan following various allegations surrounding narcotics, nepotism, corruption and family infighting. He is also the elder brother of the current president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.

Investigative news reporters and others have raised serious concerns about key business dealings by Mahmoud Karzai, including the U.S. taxpayer-funded Kabul Bank. Karzai, a key player in the bank, also allegedly borrowed large sums of money from Kabul Bank prior to its collapse. Corruption in Afghanistan remains one of the most serious problems according to Transparency International and other non-governmental organizations that have investigated the Kabul Bank scandal and other problems of corruption.

Mahmood Karzai used to own restaurants in San Francisco, Boston and Baltimore.

The New York Times noted in an article of 5 March 2009 that "... he has become a political liability, with critics saying his ascent was unfairly eased."