Crimes and injustice in Aino Maina National Development PPP Project

Support Haji Hamid Helmandi Save Aino Maina from illegal takeover by Mahmood Karzai’s accomplices in the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce (self-appointed) and Aino Maina homeowner association (self-appointed)

Please help us start a petition in support of Afghanistan’s national business man Mr. Hamid Helmandi and saving the Aino Maina project in Kandahar Afghanistan from being illegally being usurped once again by Mahmood Karzai and his criminal accomplices.

On behalf of Mahmood Karzai, the members of Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and the self-appointed Aino Maina Association,  Haji Bahaudin, Shireen Agha, Ali Ahmad Ishaqzai, Masood Rahat, Sediq Momand and Yunus Momand have been orchestrating a campaign to defame Haji Hamid Helmandi in order to divert attention from the theft and embezzlement committed by Mr. Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices.  

The above-named individuals have also been actively involved in a nasty character assassination campaign deceiving the authorities and planting lies, and baseless accusations against Haji Hamid Helmandi.  The above-referenced individuals, are working for and on behalf of Mahmood Karzai and have the following demands:

1. Haji Hamid Helmandi to transfer funds that belongs AFCO International Construction and Roads Company, in which he is partner with Mahmood Karzai; funds, he safeguarded for nearly five years in a financial institution account under the name of the company so that it would not be embezzled by Mahmood Karzai.
2. Haji Hamid Helmandi to hand over his company’s operation and ownership to Haji Bahaudin and the above referenced individuals.

Who we are:

We are residents of Aino Maina in Kandahar.  For the past 20 years, we have been silently observing the injustices of Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices who have turned our beautiful city into their private treasury, taking our rights and the rights of Haji Hamid Helmandi.  Haji Hamid Helmandi has fought for our rights since 2007 when Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices threatened to kill him and removed him from the company. 

We are all witnesses to Haji Hamid Helmandi working in his tent to turn a dessert into a township.  To make the impossible possible.  Designing and constructing beautiful homes for us and our children.  We are all witnesses to his efforts and integrity in serving his people.  We are also witnesses to the grave crimes at the hands of Mahmood Karzai and the criminals Mahmood Karzai brought into our township, taking our rights rights and the rights of Haji Hamid Helmandi. 

The last five years, that Haji Hamid Helmandi was kicked out of Aino Maina by Mahmood Karzai and his criminal accomplices, our water, roads, electricity, and green areas have suffered.  Mahmood Karzai usurped this national Private Public Partnership and has been operating our township under a fraudulent manufacturing license which he has with Rahmadullah Dilsoze. 

Under this license he has embezzled over fifty million dollars.  He continues to collect money in the office under this fraudulent company name.  Our people in Kandahar do not read English so they believe they are making payments to the legal company. 

Background

Haji Hamid Helmandi is founding partner and vice president of AFCO International Roads and Construction Company (AFCO International).  In 2002, the company AFCO International in which he is currently a partner and Vice President was awarded the Aino Maina national public private partnership (PPP) project under a BOT contract for the development of a township that is currently home to nearly  250,000 people.  The PPP project received its first $3million dollars loan from OPIC in 2003, with Haji Hamid Helmandi contributing not only his expertise in real estate development but also his own nearly $700,000 in equipment.

This project has been a source of pride for Afghanistan, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, design, and amenities.  Under the PPP project, AFCO company is responsible for providing specific infrastructure (roads, water/sewerline system, electric system, underground water enrichment and protection, and green areas) against deposits from residents/homeowners and upon the completion of the project, ownership is to be transferred to the Kandahar Municipality. 
The project has also been the source of grave crimes and injustice, where the rights of the residents of Aino Maina and Haji Hamid Helmandihave been consistently violated by Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices through fraud, theft, embezzlement and land grabbing in Aino Maina. 

Events
The events are lengthy and will be shared with much greater detail.  For now, we will do our best to breakdown the key events.  Everything we have written below and in this website is backed by substantive evidence: paper, and recordings people around the world have shared with us.

In the first few years of the project, Haji Hamid Helmandi worked night and day with his engineers and construction team to fulfill the requirements of the PPP contract.  Under the signed agreement with the Government, the residents were to be given specific services in accordance with standards and township regulations.  But Haji Hamid Helmandi proved to be a thorn for Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices.  They wanted to steal and violate the rights of the public and Haji Hamid Helmandi did not.  Emails and transactions only wreak of conspiracies and baseless accusations at the hands of Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices. 

In 2006, Mr. Mahmood Karzai forced his brother to take over the company. 

For the next ten years, financial records and paper records all exhibit  significant fraud, theft, embezzlement, death threats, hiring assassins, arrest warrants, and other crimes and conspiracies that took place at AFCO International Company and in the Aino Maina township PPP project. 

During this dark decade, evidence shows that Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices forged signatures, created new licenses, and appointed others in the company to carry out their theft.  Very relevant was the creation of another license called Aino Maina Company (License No. D-04-328) and successfully transferred a minimum of $57,757,746.95  USD to this Aino Maina Comapany.  And tens of millions of dollars in cash.  During this time, they also changed the design structure of the township turning it from a model of best-practices in township design and construction, to a model that now has revealed how much economic and security burdens fall on the residents.  (We will explain this in more detail in our blog)

In January 2018, an unfortunate event took place.  Of the remaining three partners in the company, Hashim Karzai died.  He and Haji Hamid Helmandiwere committed to fulfilling the obligations to the public.  They were not committed to fraud, theft, or embezzlement. 

After his dealth, Haji Hamid Helmandi was given signatory authority of all the bank accounts.  The reason was that the special court overseeing the Kabul Bank embezzlement case had found Mahmood Karzai guilty of over 30 million dollars he had stolen from Kabul Bank.  In 2014, Mahmood Karzai used the Aino Maina PPP project deposits with AFCO International Company to pay back the first installment ($6.1 million) of his liability back to the government. 

To prevent another theft by Mahmood Karzai of using public deposits and company funds for his personal liability, Haji Hamid Helmandi became the account signatory.  With Haji Hamid Helmandi having access to financial data and financial control for the first time since the project’s inception, two things became apparent:  (1). The financial records from the past which he had access to for the first time were filled with nearly one hundred million dollars of suspicious activities.  (2).  Haji Hamid Helmandi refused to misuse public deposits, and actively monitored fraud activities, especially suspicious construction contracts. 

Mr. Helmandi also brought it to the attention of Mahmood Karzai that he needed to bring back the $6.1 million taken to pay off his Kabul Bank liability/ theft.  In addition, he raised the records that showed embezzlement, suspicious contracts with family members, and free land he had given to people on his own accord.  [Free land issued by Mahmood Karzai, much of it in the form of bribes, most of it in the form of bribes to government officials, has placed an undue burden on the public and company.  Those who have honestly paid for their land are unjustly made responsible to bear the financial costs for services of those who have not paid.  Much of this free land has been given to people in positions of authority, in exchange for protecting Mahmood Karzai from legal action and criminal liability. 

Naturally, Haji Hamid Helmandi wanted to commence an audit. 

The audit request alarmed Mahmood Karzai.  As it alarmed members of Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and members of the self-appointed homeowner association.  All their crimes were tied to each other and an audit would reveal how much they had stollen from the public and how much fraud they had engaged in. 

Mahmood Karzai and his accomplices decided to follow in the same footprints of their past, which they had carried out between 2007-2012.  Forging documents, using financial and political influence, and stealing land from the project and giving them out as bribes, attempts to change the license, attempts to bring in new partners by force. 

The Ministry of Commerce refused to comply with his illegal and fraudulent documents and refused to issue Mahmood Karzai a new license with additional partners.  Officials in the ministry told us that a physical altercation also occurred between the staff and Mahmood Karzai’s lawyer.  In addition, there were telephone calls made by Mahmood karzai’s kitchen staff claiming to be members of the former President’s office. 

Finally, on January 2018, Mahmood Karzai illegally and fraudulently obtained a sole-proprietorship manufacturing license used to produce drip irrigation pipes for Aino Maina’s green areas.   In March 2018, Mahmood Karzai issued a written order (written by Rahmatullah Dilsoze and their attorney Rauf Hawa) informing all staff that moving forward, all payments coming in the name of the legal company AFCO International for Aino Maina, shall be deposited into Mahmood Karzai’s 100% owned pipe manufacturing company; in the license, the President is named Mahmood Karzai and the Vice President is named Rahmatullah Dilsoze (the admin manager). 

For several months, Haji Hamid Helmandi petitioned every relevant judiciary authority and body to issue a cease-and-desist order against Mahmood Karzai’s illegal usurping of Haji Hamid Helmandi’s company and a national PPP project.  To no avail.  Verified and unverified bribes in the form of land and cash were spread, coupled with political influence. 

In June 2018, Haji Hamid Helmandi, pursuant to sharia law, the civil code, and the commercial code transferred the company’s 14 million dollars in another financial institution registered with the Central Bank, under AFCO International Construction Roads Company, citing it was public deposited funds and to be safeguarded from embezzlement. 

Between 2018-2021, he used this manufacturing license to operate the national PPP project, and ensured to remove Haji Hamid Helmandi from the company.  In addition, his private security threatened to finish anyone who dared to support Haji Hamid Helmandi.  As a result, all of the employees who were not corrupt and loyal to Haji Hamid Helmandi were fired.  Mr. Rahmat Dilsoze, Parwiz Momand, Rauf Hawa, Shafi Karzai, Habibullah and Mahmood Karzai’s private security personnel all pledged an allegiance to Mahmood Karzai, Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, and the self-appointed Aino Maina homeowner association to support them all in the embezzlement and land theft.  Unfortunately, these individuals have also personally been involved in these crimes, collectively large fortunes despite their small salaries. 

With external and internal support, (Kandahar Chamber/self-appointed association and office staff) Mr. Mahmood Karzai successfully embezzled and laundered over 48 million dollars through various institutions, including Maiwand Bank.  These numbers come directly from the financial statements of 2018-2021. 

There are several court documents from March and June 2021 which affirm Mahmood Karzai’s embezzlement; in addition, an order from the special crimes unit of the Attorney General Office called for an immediate transfer of funds directly into the AFCO International lawful accounts. 

In October 2021, a group of mediators chaired by Haji Bahaudin tried to take the 14 million dollars by force, under threat of arresting Mr. Helmand in Kandahar, so that they could operate the Aino Maina Project. Haji Hamid Helmandi refused to transfer the money to the same men who were Mahmood Karzai’s partners in crime.  In-fact, the mediators exhibited no commitment to solving the problem once it became apparent to them that Haji Hamid Helmandi wanted an audit and expected full transparency and accountability.  An audit would expose most of the men who were appointed mediators. 

In November 2022, Haji Hamid Helmandi and Mahmood Karzai were called before a national commission where they both signed an agreement, whose terms included:
(a).  Haji Hamid Helmandi would return to his project after being kept away for five years by Mahmood Karzai; (b).  Haji Hamid Helmandi would commence the project services and infrastructure with the $14 milliond he had been safeguarding for five years; (c).  Mahmood Karzai would return all the money and assets he had taken from the company; (d) A legal authority would determine the ownership of each partner (pursuant to an audit); (e).  The ownership details, once determined, would be used to obtain a new license; (f). After the license is obtained, a bank account would be opened. 

The agreement was witnessed by Kandahar Chamber of Commerce members and Aino Maina self-appointed homeowner association members.  The agreement also appointed three people (representing Kandahar Chamber, Mahmood Karzai and Haji Hamid Helmandi) to ensure the agreements were lawfully implemented.

As soon as Haji Hamid Helmandi revived the project, the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Aino Maina self-appointed association started their harassment.  Demanding immediate takeover of all the money that had been safeguarded by Haji Hamid Helmandi to come under their possession.   Haji Hamid Helmandi insisted that the agreements be implemented.  After many arrest threats, in January and February 2023, Mr. Bahaudin successfully orchestrated situations where Haji Hamid Helmandi had to sign several letters under sheer force and duress, again under the threat of being arrested.  Haji Hamid Helmandi lodged several formal complaints of being forced to sign this document.  Altogether, Haji Hamid Helmandi has lodged over thirty written complaints on the conspiracies, threats, and illegal actions that he has faced since November 2022.  In addition, he has printed four volumes (totally 492 pages) of evidence, of which at least ten copies have been circulated to various parties, detailing the embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and theft in Aino Maina.   

Haji Hamid Helmandi, is a well-respected and honorable member of Afghanistan’s private sector.  He is also an investor and entrepreneur in several other businesses and considered to be one of the country’s most honest and productive members of the private sector.  His contributions in renewable energy, agricultural productivity, water management, poultry, and construction have encouraged many people in Afghanistan, especially the private sector.  He is known to be quiet, non-political man who loves construction and farming. 

Haji Hamid Helmandi is an honest man of integrity and has not engaged in any theft in Aino Maina.  To the contrary, he has produced hundreds of pages of documents that exhibit in detail exactly how much theft, fraud and embezzlement has occurred in Aino Maina. 

We have obtained the voice recordings of several of the above referenced individuals openly threatening Haji Hamid Helmandi to hand over the money to Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, and threatening to arrest him if he does not hand over the money.  Under shariah law, we are obliged to make these recordings public, in light of the on-going crime where people’s rights and lives are in danger, and where the future of Afghanistan’s entire private sector and investor community is in danger.  This is a national PPP project that Haji Hamid Helmandi has worked on for many years on our behalf and he is the only person we trust with our deposits and on this project. 

The residents of Aino Maina firmly stand with Haji Hamid Helmandi.  We will not allow any of our funds to be transferred to Haji Bahaudin, Sediq Momand, Shireen Agha, Ali Ahmad Ishaqzai or anyone else representing Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, Mahmood Karzai, or Aino Mainai’s self-appointed homeowner association.  This is a blatant attemptto privately “expropriate” this PPP project by sheer force. 

And, this is a major cause for concern for investors and the private sector.  This is our hard-earned money and we will not allow any more fraud, theft, and embezzlement in our township.  We also will not allow our rights or the rights of Haji Hamid Helmandi to be taken by Mahmood Karzai and accomplices. 

Haji Hamid Helmandi has been fighting Mr. Mahmood Karzai in the Afghanistan judiciary sector since 2018.  Unfortunately, bribes and free land go a long way.   With the amount of land and money being embezzled from public deposits, and used privately without any knowledge or approval Haji Hamid Helmandi, there is little incentive for anyone to bring Mahmood Karzai and his criminal accomplices to justice. 

To learn more about these crimes at the hands of Mahmood Karzai and his criminal network, and the injustices against Haji Hamid Helmandi, the residents of Aino Maina and the previous partners, you can access the following:

1.  Joshua Paltrow’s book: A Kingdom of Their Own

2. www.ainomaina.com
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/world/asia/karzai-family-moves-to-protect-its-privilege.html
4. https://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/the-karzai-rule
5. Mahmood Karzai’s Land Grabbing and Embezzlement in Aino Maina Volumes 1-4