Karzai spokesman : no death threats for runaway Afghan chief banker

The chief spokesman for the Afghan president, Waheed Omer, has confirmed that the war-torn country's central bank chief Abdul Qadir Fitrat has fled to the United States but cast doubts on claims that his life was in danger. In an announcement made from Washington and carried by Afghan TV on Tuesday, Fitrat, the governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, said he resigned because he feared reprisals over his exposure of a number of high-profile officials who were allegedly involved in a massive fraud scandal last year surrounding Kabul Bank, Afghanistan's largest private lender. The bank was founded in 2004 by Sherkhan Farnood, a world-class poker player. Other co-owners include Mahmood Karzai, a brother of President Hamid Karzai, and a brother of Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim. "My life was completely in danger and this was particularly true after I spoke to the parliament and exposed some people who are responsible for the crisis of Kabul Bank," Fitrat said. Omer said the banker's claims were "not valid," and described his resignation as an "escape" and "very irresponsible act." "No one threatened Fitrat's life in Afghanistan," Omer told reporters in Kabul on Tuesday. Omer said earlier Fitrat's name was on the list of people due to be prosecuted over the scandal. Kabul Bank was taken over by the central bank last year after its former executives took a reported $900 million in off-the-books loans that were then allegedly partly used to buy property in Dubai.