Afghan official said to take bribe for copper deal

[Thrill]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan.

In Washington, two U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports said that Afghanistan's minister of mines, Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, allegedly accepted the money soon after the $3 billion contract was awarded in late 2007 to China Metallurgical Group Corp.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The payment to Adel was apparently made in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said one of the U.S. officials. Dubai, just a three-hour flight from Kabul, has long been viewed as hub for illicit cash transactions, according to an August report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The minister has denied having taken any bribes and said the contract went through all legal channels, according to Afghan state television.

Afghanistan is on the eve of a ceremony to swear President Hamid Karzai in for a second five-year term. Karzai has been under pressure from the U.S. and NATO allies to rid his government of the graft and backroom deals that turn Afghans against their public institutions and undercut the U.S. military effort there.

Arriving in Kabul on Wednesday to attend the inauguration, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Karzai has a "clear window of opportunity" to show Afghans that their government will be accountable.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091118/ap_on_go_ot/us_afghanistan_minister_bribed