KABUL, Aug 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The United Nations said Thursday it follows strict rules for distributing international aid in Afghanistan, after a US government watchdog alleged funds were diverted by the Taliban authorities, including through collusion with UN officials.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said it took "extremely seriously any allegations of malpractice and corruption," in a statement acknowledging the report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published Wednesday.

The UN said delivering aid in Afghanistan was "extremely complex", marked by "attempts at interference and restrictions" by Taliban officials.

It emphasised, however, "robust safeguards" were in place to "ensure critical international assistance to the Afghan people reaches those who need it most".

In interviews with 90 people, including UN and US government officials, SIGAR said it found that "the Taliban use every means at their disposal, including force, to ensure that aid goes where they want it to, as opposed to where donors intend".

Interference included "diverting aid to Taliban-favored groups, using their regulatory power to choose which nongovernmental organizations are permitted to operate, extorting NGO staff, and colluding with senior UN officials to demand kickbacks from UN vendors", it alleged.

A spokesman for the Taliban government -- which took power in August 2021 after a 20-year insurgency against US-led forces -- did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The United States was the largest aid donor to Afghanistan until early 2025, when all but a sliver of funds were cancelled after President Donald Trump took office, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis deemed one of the world's worst by the United Nations.

Donors had given more than $10 billion in aid for Afghans between the Taliban takeover and Washington's aid cuts, 36 percent of which was US-provided, the SIGAR report said.