Sherkhan Farnood (15 August 1963 – 24 August 2018) was an Afghan banker, Chairman of Kabul Bank until late 2010, which is Afghanistan's largest private financial institution with over 1 million customers. Farnood held 28.16% of the shares in the Kabul Bank.[1] He also owned Pamir Airways, in partnership with Khalilullah Fruzi/Frozi, Mohammed Fahim and possibly others.[2] According to media reports, by November 2010 Da Afghanistan Bank insisted both Farnood and Kabul Bank chief executive Frozi had been removed from bank management;.[3] As of early 2011, both were effectively under house arrest and could not leave the country.[4]
An ethnic Uzbek,[5] Farnood was originally from Kunduz Province of northern Afghanistan.[6] He studied chemical engineering while simultaneously running a business in Moscow, Russia. During the 1980s and 1990s, he ran a hawala, or an informal money transfer organization in Moscow.[2]
Farnood became a prominent poker player, he took part in the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) and won his first bracelet.[7] Prior to his detention, he spent most of his time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he owned a number of villas on Palm Jumeirah.[8][9]
On 24 August 2018, Farnood died in prison at the age of 55, apparently due to natural causes .[10]
- ^ "Financials". Kabul Bank. 31 March 2007. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ a b "In Afghanistan, signs of crony capitalism (p.3)". Andrew Higgins. The Washington Post. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ Ellis, Eric (7 November 2010). "Why Farnood was flushed out of Kabulbank". Euromoney. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ^ Partlow, Joshua (1 February 2011). "Kabul Bank employees flee to Pakistan amid investigation into lending, officials say". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ "Afghan businessmen leave for Bonn meet". gulfnews. 29 November 2001. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
I am born Uzbek, but I speak Tajik, Hazara and Pashto. I am married to a Pashtun. My mother is a Tajik. It is better you don't ask me about my tribal affiliations, because I am an Afghan.
- ^ Afghan Biographies: Farnood, Sherkhan Shirkhan Farnud
- ^ "Sherkhan Farnood". Pokernews.com. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ Higgins, Andrew (22 February 2010). "In Afghanistan, signs of crony capitalism (p.2)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "US Cuts Aid After Millions Siphoned Off to Dubai". Susanne Koelbl. Spiegel. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ "Former Head Of Kabul Bank Dies In Prison". TOLOnews. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2023.