Kamal Nabizada, an Afghan businessman sanctioned by the United States and known for his close ties to Moscow, returned to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday, where he was warmly welcomed by Mohammad Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh province.

In a statement issued Friday, the governor’s office confirmed that Nabizada had returned at the invitation of Governor Wafa.

Nabizada had been living in Russia for the past two years. His return comes just days after Moscow officially recognised the Taliban as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” and raised the group’s flag over the Afghan embassy in the Russian capital.

In 2022, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Nabizada as part of a network accused of oil smuggling and money laundering on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.

In a recent interview with Afghanistan International, Nabizada denied the allegations, claiming the sanctions were politically motivated. “The United States imposed sanctions on me, along with hundreds of other businessmen, to pressure Russia,” he said.