In accordance with paragraph 20 of resolution 2160 (2014), the 1988 Sanctions Committee makes accessible a narrative summary of reasons for the listing for individuals, groups, undertakings and entities included in the 1988 Sanctions List.
Roshan Money Exchange was listed on 29 June 2012 pursuant to paragraph 3 of resolution 1988 (2011) for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of” and “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” those designated and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with the Taliban in constituting a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan.
Roshan Money Exchange (RMX) stores and transfers funds to support Taliban military operations and the Taliban’s role in the Afghan narcotics trade. RMX was one of the primary hawalas (informal money remittance services) used by Taliban officials in Helmand Province as of 2011.
In 2011, a senior Taliban member withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from an RMX branch in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region to distribute to Taliban shadow provincial governors. To fund the Taliban’s spring offensive in 2011, the Taliban shadow governor of Helmand Province sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to RMX. Also in 2011, a Taliban member received tens of thousands of dollars from RMX to support military operations. An RMX branch in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region also held tens of thousands of dollars to be collected by a Taliban commander. In 2010, on behalf of the Taliban shadow governor of Helmand Province, a Taliban member used RMX to send thousands of dollars to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
The RMX branch in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, has been used by the Taliban to transfer funds for local operations. In 2011, a Taliban sub-commander transferred tens of thousands of dollars to a Taliban commander through the RMX branch in Lashkar Gah. The Taliban also sent funds to the RMX branch in Lashkar Gah for distribution to Taliban commanders in 2010. Also in 2010, a Taliban member used RMX to send tens of thousands of dollars to Helmand Province and Herat Province, Afghanistan, on behalf of the Taliban shadow governor of Helmand Province.
In 2009, a senior Taliban representative collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from an RMX branch in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region to finance Taliban military operations in Afghanistan. The money sent to RMX originated in Iran. In 2008, a Taliban leader used RMX to transfer tens of thousands of dollars from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
The Taliban also uses RMX to facilitate its role in the Afghan narcotics trade. As of 2011, Taliban officials, including the shadow governor of Helmand Province, transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from an RMX branch in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region to hawalas in Afghanistan for the purchase of narcotics on behalf of Taliban officials. Also in 2011, a Taliban official directed Taliban commanders in Helmand Province to transfer opium proceeds through RMX. One Taliban district chief transferred thousands of dollars from Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to an RMX branch in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.