A senior official has confirmed up to 5 billion U.S. Dollars were smuggled to Iran from Afghanistan during the year 2018.

The official speaking on the condition of anonymity has told BBC’s Afghanistan service that the U.S. Dollars are being smuggled through official channels.

The official further added that the authorities have received credible financial information in this regard.

This comes as the issue of the smuggling of U.S. Dollars to Iran from Afghanistan has became a hot topic following the revival of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

According to reports, billions of U.S. Dollars are being smuggled to Iran each year which helps the Iranian regime maintain a financial balance against the imposed sanctions.

Meanwhile, two Iranian educational institutes are operational in the country which according to reports receive payments in U.S. Dollars or Euros only.

The bordering regions between Afghanistan and Iran has long been used for the smuggling of human and drugs but the smugglers have also resorted to smuggling of Dollars during the recent years.

This comes as the Afghan government prohibits the transportation of cash amounting more than 10 thousand U.S. Dollars and demand trade documents for amounts exceeding $10 thousand.

Reports regarding the smuggling of U.S. Dollars emerge as the rate of Afghanis against each U.S. Dollar has reached to 80 in open markets which is considered historical for the past 20 years.