In a 2011 report by '' Vanity Fair '' contributing editor David Rose , it was alleged that Afghan Wireless was linked to an American intelligence project called Operation Foxden , a Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency endeavor to wiretap Afghan Wireless ' infrastructure for intelligence gathering on the Taliban regime . Although allegedly authorized to proceed on September 8 , 2001 , Operation Foxden was rendered moot by the September 11 attacks and invasion of Afghanistan . Rose claimed that in the operation 's planning stages , the FBI and NSA helped transfer ownership of Afghan Wireless to a shell company , Netmobile , in Liechtenstein , to circumnavigate the 1999 Executive Order 13129 ban on American citizens doing business with the Taliban . In response to the article , Bayat denied that American intelligence agencies were behind the change in ownership , and that " to the contrary , my application for an exemption from U.S. sanctions was denied by the U.S. government . " Bayat also denied that he or his companies had acted unlawfully , installed wiretaps , or acted as " an agent , informant or spy . " Afghan Wireless launched a mobile-money feature in 2012 involving biometrics . In 2017 , the Afghanistan Ministry of Finance gave Afghan Wireless a " Best Large Taxpayer " award
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Afghan Wireless