The Taliban got millions by helping build World Cup venues

A large contingent of Taliban leadership lived in Doha as of 2013, where they were involved in long-running peace talks with the US and UN.

A source who lived in Doha in the decade before the Taliban took over Afghanistan last year said: “The Taliban invested heavily in building the World Cup and the tournament was a golden duck. They were paid in the millions.

“Some Taliban members each had between six and 10 heavy machines in Doha and were making up to £10,000 per machine per month.”

Two senior Taliban sources described how during these negotiations officials received lucrative residency allowances that were invested in construction machinery.

The Qatari authorities are understood to have paid thousands of pounds a month to members of the Taliban political office in Doha, with US and UN approval, as part of an effort to facilitate peace talks with the West.
The Qataris claim monthly payments were monitored “in coordination” with the US. There is no evidence of wrongdoing or any involvement by the Qatari authorities in the Taliban’s construction arrangements. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd. 2022)