US taxpayer money is flowing to the Taliban: Damning government report reveals American cash is getting into terrorists hands through $2.9 billion UN plan and bundles of notes delivered to Kabul airport

American taxpayers' money is ending up in the hands of the Taliban , according to a U.S. government watchdog, which found that bundles of cash flown into Afghanistan by the United Nations are finding their way to the country's central bank.

The latest report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that the U.N. has delivered more than $2.9 billion in cash since the extremist group took over in 2021.

The money, most of which comes from the U.S., is deposited in private banks for humanitarian organizations and their lifesaving work.

But some of the money, the report concludes, is routed through the central bank, which is under the control of the Taliban.

'Most of the money that's going in cash through the U.N. is ultimately coming from U.S. taxpayers,' John Sopko, the inspector general, told ProPublica .

'It's going to a terrorist group. The Taliban are a bunch of terrorists.'

The report is the first in-depth look at how American money makes its way into Afghanistan on aid flights and what happens to it after that

The U.S. and other foreign donors scaled back their assistance after the collapse of the internationally-backed government in 2021 amid concerns that the Taliban would use the money for their own ends.

Even so the report demonstrates the difficulty of delivering any humanitarian aid to areas under the control of sanctioned governments or terrorists groups.

In its response to the report, the State Department said: 'We take seriously our duty as stewards of American taxpayer money and hold our implementing partners to the highest standards to ensure that U.S. assistance funds are used wisely, effectively, and for their intended purposes.

'Any interference with, or diversion of U.S. government assistance is unacceptable.'

The Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021 as American troops and their international partners departed.

The speed of the takeover surprised the Pentagon and intelligence community, leaving government agencies and the United Nations scrambling to ensure that the Taliban couldn't profit from aid programs.

This year the U.N. estimates that 23.7 million are in need of help, the legacy of decades of war.

The U.S. remains the biggest donor, providing about $2.6 billion since the Taliban takeover, for the U.N., other international bodies, or charities.

During that time, reveals the report, the U.N. bought and transported $2.9 billion of cash to Afghanistan.

The problem is that donors 'make contributions to pooled U.N. accounts, which prevents tying humanitarian assistance expenses—including for the purchase and transport of cash into Afghanistan—to a specific donor's contribution,' it continues.

In the absence of reliable electronic transfer systems, there is only one practical way to get the money into the country.

Pictures published by Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the Afghan central bank, show bales of 100 dollar bills arriving in the country via U.N. flights.

From there they are deposited in a private bank. Some of the money is then converted into local currency, afghanis, for local aid agencies.

'Despite UN statements that it does not provide cash to the Taliban or the Taliban-controlled DAB, when the UN's private Afghan bank cannot access sufficient afghanis to fulfill the UN’s requirements for local currency, the bank does so through DAB on the UN's behalf and with the UN's knowledge,' concludes the report.

'This means some of the U.S. dollars the UN purchases and transports into Afghanistan ends up in Taliban hands via the currency exchange process with DAB.'

Lawmakers said that was not good enough.

'This is unacceptable,' Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, told ProPublica. 'The U.S. government must work harder to prevent the Taliban from benefiting from humanitarian aid.'