Three members of the Meshrano Jirga, the Upper House of Parliament, were sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison each by the primary court of the Anti-Corruption Justice Center on charges of accepting $40,000 in bribe money from customs officials in Balkh, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) said on Saturday.
Three detained Meshrano Jirga (Upper House) of parliament members were sentenced to 10 years and one month in jail by the primary court of Anti-Corruption Justice Center, Attorney General’s office stated, they reportedly were detained on charges of accepting $40,000 in bribes from custom officials.
Senators Mohammad Azim Qoyash, Liyaqatullah Babakarkhil, and Anwar Bashliq were previously accused of asking $60,000, and in December 2020 they were arrested for accepting $40,000 in bribes.
According to AGO, the primary court of the Anti-Corruption Justice Center decided on seven criminal counts against the senators, these senators were each fined $40,000.
These senators were members of the economy committee of the Senate, who traveled to Balkh to assess security and economic situation, especially had traveled to monitor the province’s custom office.
This comes as former Herat mayor, Ghulam Hazrat Mushfiq, and six other people were sentenced to prison for six years and were fined $75,000 each.
