HAMBURG, Oct 6: The Bank of England has ordered the freeze of 10 million euros in a bank account used by the Taliban, the weekly German magazine Der Spiegel reports in its Monday issue.

Ten million euros (9.2 million dollars) of the Afghan National Credit and Finance Limited bank — a London branch of the Kabul-based Milli bank — were frozen by authorities.

The money was used for activity by the Taliban in Europe, the magazine said in a press release Saturday.

The bank “used to have close financial links with the Bank of Credit and Commerce International,” which until it went under in 1991 was one of the financial institutions which had accounts belonging to Osama bin Laden, the magazine added.

The magazine also said the British finance ministry was investigating the London-based “Trading Company of Afghanistan”.

Its head, Roger Ivett, also heads the Afghan National Credit and Finance Corporation.—AFP