VIENNA -- Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as U.S. ambassador
to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations under President George W.
Bush, is being investigated by American authorities for suspected money
laundering, Austrian officials said Monday.
State
prosecutor Thomas Vecsey confirmed a report in the Austrian weekly
Profil about the investigation of Khalilzad, who played a key role in
the political transition in Afghanistan after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion
and the fall of the Taliban.
According to the
magazine, the investigation centers on the alleged transfer of 1.15
million euros ($1.5 million) in May 2013 to an account in Vienna owned
by Khalilzad's wife, Cheryl Benard. The money came from business
activities in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, it reported. Vecsey
would not elaborate on the allegations, nor did the magazine's report.
Profil
said the case became public after a blogger found documents while
rummaging through a garbage container used by the state prosecutor's
office in Vienna.
The magazine said several
bank accounts owned by Benard were ordered frozen in February - a ruling
that is under appeal. Benard's lawyer, Holger Bielesz, told Profil that
U.S. authorities have yet to express "reasonable grounds for
suspicions."
Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan
and went to the United States as an exchange student. He later became a
professor and a favorite of Republican presidents, especially Bush.
Khalilzad
was the U.S. special presidential envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to
2003, then U.S. ambassador there until 2005. He was the ambassador to
Iraq from 2005 to 2007, and the U.S. permanent representative to the
United Nations from 2007 to 2009.
Many Afghan
officials and foreign observers saw Khalilzad as the country's de-facto
ruler in the initial months after the Taliban's collapse. He took center
stage organizing the traditional grand councils, or loya jirgas, that
would eventually approve Afghanistan's constitution.
In
the private sector, Khalilzad is founder and president of Gryphon
Partners, which advises companies and wealthy individuals on business
opportunities in several industries and regions, including high-risk
territories.
He sits on the boards of the
National Endowment for Democracy, America Abroad Media, the Mideast
studies center at Rand Corp., the American University of Iraq and the
American University of Afghanistan. He also is a counselor at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies, and writes about foreign
policy issues and frequently appears on U.S. news shows.
Khalilzad
holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the American University of
Beirut, as well as a doctorate from the University of Chicago.
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