Loyalty Over Law: Corruption in the Taliban’s Afghanistan

The Taliban once built public support by promising cleaner, more accountable government than the corrupt system they replaced. New evidence suggests that corruption has not disappeared, but rather, has moved inward, becoming embedded in ministries, security institutions, and the regime’s patronage networks.

Our latest analysis by Durand Dispatch researcher, Ameera Moinuddin, examines corruption allegations involving the Ministry of Public Health, Interior Ministry, Herat officials, and members of Hibatullah Akhundzada’s inner circle. It shows how loyalty, ethnic favoritism, and personal connections increasingly determine access to power and employment, while anti-corruption investigations often appear to reflect factional struggles rather than genuine accountability.