Afghanistan Detains Several Crypto Dealers Following Crypto Ban

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has arrested several crypto dealers who flaunted orders by Taliban authorities to suspend all digital asset trading activities across the nation after imposing a cryptocurrency ban in the embattled country earlier this month.

Sayed Shah Sa’adat, head of the counter-crime unit of Herat police, told local reporters: “Da Afghanistan’s Bank [central bank] stated in a letter that digital currency trading has caused lots of problems and is scamming people, therefore they should be closed. We acted and arrested all the exchangers involved in the business and closed their shops.”

A report detailing the arrests also confirmed that the territory’s security forces have closed over 16 crypto exchanges in the Herat province of Afghanistan last week.

A Herat resident, Mawla Alizada, told the local press that the government took the action to stop assets from leaving the country in the form of digital currencies. Alizada asserted that Afghans were losing money due to syndicated activities and daily rate fluctuations.

New Order Robs Afghanistan Citizens of Crypto Advantage

Sa’adat said in an interview with Bloomberg that 20 crypto-related businesses have been closed in Herat, the nation’s third-largest city and digital asset hub. The police counter-crime unit head also noted that 13 people have been detained and that most of them have been released on bail. He further explained:

“The central bank gave us an order to stop all money changers, individuals, and businesspeople from trading fraudulent digital currencies like what is commonly referred to as Bitcoin.”

The new order puts Afghanistan on the same list as China, which outlawed all crypto activities in 2021. However, this crypto move robs Afghan citizens of an advantage they previously used to bypass some US sanctions laid on the country after the Taliban took control.