Taliban seize $12.4 million from former top Afghan officials

FILE PHOTO: Amrullah Saleh, first vice-presidential candidate of Ashraf Ghani speaks during the presidential election campaign in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 13, 2019. Picture taken September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban-controlled central bank said it had seized nearly $12.4 million in cash and gold from former top government officials on Wednesday, including former vice president Amrullah Saleh.

In a statement, the central bank said the money and gold had been kept in officials' houses, although it did not yet know for what purpose.