Saleh said in a post on X that the United States handed over $45 million in cash to the Taliban in Kabul on Jan. 13 at around 2 p.m. local time. He alleged the transfer took place while the Taliban were still holding about $23 million from a previous deli

Afghanistan`s former vice president Amrullah Saleh said on Tuesday that the United States transferred tens of millions of dollars in cash to the Taliban this month, an allegation that neither US nor Taliban officials have publicly confirmed.

Saleh said in a post on X that the United States handed over $45 million in cash to the Taliban in Kabul on Jan. 13 at around 2 p.m. local time. He alleged the transfer took place while the Taliban were still holding about $23 million from a previous delivery.

"The United States has promised to provide $90 million to the Taliban in January alone," Saleh wrote, adding that the timing of the cash deliveries had changed following public disclosures of earlier transfers.

Saleh said the cash had previously been delivered in the morning, but alleged that the timing was shifted after he and others revealed details of earlier transfers. He did not provide evidence to support the claims.

There was no immediate response from US officials or the Taliban to Saleh`s allegations.

The United States has repeatedly said that its assistance to Afghanistan is humanitarian in nature and is channelled through United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations, not directly to the Taliban administration.

On January 13th, at 1400 hrs Kabul time, the United States hand-delivered $45,000,000 (forty-five million dollars) to the Taliban in Kabul. They used to make these deliveries in the morning, but after our revelations, they changed the time. This happened while the Taliban had not… https://t.co/WCiN0kR71s

— Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) January 27, 2026

Saleh served as vice president under former president Ashraf Ghani and declared himself acting president after the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021. He later left Afghanistan and has since been a vocal critic of the Taliban and of international engagement with the Taliban.

In July 2024, the US Congress passed legislation aimed at preventing US funds from reaching the Taliban.

Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, who sponsored the bill, said at the time that the legislation was intended to stop foreign assistance from benefiting the Taliban.

"Every dollar the federal government spends should not end up in the hands of our enemies," Burchett said following the bill`s passage.

Burchett has previously criticised the US State Department for failing to prevent humanitarian assistance from indirectly benefiting the Taliban.

Under the legislation, the US State Department is required to report on which countries, in addition to the United States, have provided assistance to Taliban-run Afghanistan since 2021, and on measures taken to prevent funds from reaching the Taliban.

Taliban have denied receiving direct financial assistance from the United States, while aid agencies say humanitarian funding is essential to support millions of Afghans facing poverty, food insecurity and economic collapse.

The allegations come amid heightened scrutiny in Washington over US policy toward Afghanistan, including oversight of humanitarian funding and safeguards against diversion of aid.