Mir Rahman Rahmani (Pashto: میررحمان رحماني, Dari: میر رحمان رحمانی; born 1962) is an Afghan politician and businessman who is the current de jure Speaker of Afghanistan's House of the People (Wolesi Jirga, the House of Representatives), holding the office since June 2019, until his flight from Afghanistan in 2021. He has been a member of the Wolesi Jirga since 2010.[1]

Mir Rahman Rahmani
Speaker of the House of the People
In office
29 June 2019 – 15 August 2021
PresidentAshraf Ghani
DeputyAmir Khan Yar (first deputy)
Ahmad Shah Ramazan (second deputy)
Preceded byAbdul Rauf Ibrahimi
Member of the House of the People
In office
26 April 2019 – 15 August 2021
ConstituencyParwan Province
Personal details
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Bagram, Parwan Province, Afghanistan
Children1 son, 5 daughters
OccupationPolitician, businessman
EthnicityTajik

On 29 June 2019, he was elected as Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, receiving 136 votes; the other candidate, Mohammad Wardak, received 96 votes.[1][2]

Following the fall of Kabul into the control of the Taliban, Rahmani was obliged to leave Afghanistan.[3] In addition to his Afghan nationality, he also holds a Cypriot passport.

Sanctions

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Rahmani, his son Ajmal and 44 associated entities were sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury in December 2023 for misappropriating millions of dollars of US support to Afghanistan before the 2020–2021 U.S. withdrawal. The Rahmanis are alleged to have enriched themselfes by selling overpriced fuel to the former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, not delivering the agreed amounts by at least 11,000,000 litres and avoiding taxation of imported fuel through their company network by paying bribes to individuals in the Afghanistan Customs Department. The Treasury also sanctioned various companies, believed to be under Rahmanis control, the majority of those are listed in Germany.[4]

The Rahmanis motion for a preliminary injunction against the Treasury was dismissed in April 2024.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Rahmani, Rahman Al-Haj Mir". afghan-bios.
  2. ^ "Mir Rahman Rahmani elected as Afghanistan parliament speaker". 1tvnews.
  3. ^ "Afghan President leaves country, Taliban directed to enter Kabul". The Khaama Press News Agency. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Treasury Targets Transnational Corruption" treasury.gov 11 December 2023
  5. ^ "Rahmani v. Yellen" https://casetext.com 19 April 2024