KABUL, Afghanistan — The eldest brother of President Hamid Karzai said he is not aware of a criminal investigation into his activities, an inquiry he says is more about political differences with the United States than wrongdoing on his part.
“I’m hurt, because instead of being praised for what I’ve done, I’m being attacked all the time for political reasons,’’ Mahmood Karzai, a US citizen who now lives in Dubai and has businesses in Afghanistan, said in a recent interview that touched on corruption claims against him.
A federal criminal investigation under way in New York is now focusing on possible corruption involving Karzai, a US law enforcement official said yesterday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the ongoing investigation is in its early stages.
Karzai said that he is traveling to New York this week to amend his earnings on his US tax returns to show profits from business deals not previously reported, and that he will freely discuss his financial deals with American prosecutors.
“Why should they charge me?’’ he said. “I’ve already volunteered to correct the problem.’’
Waiting for Twitter to feed in the latest...