Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother has denied an American newspaper report that he receives payments from the CIA.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was responding Wednesday to a New York Times report that said he has been on the CIA payroll for much of the past eight years.
The newspaper reported that the CIA still pays Karzai, who is accused of being a major player in the booming Afghan heroin trade, for services including recruiting a CIA-run Afghan paramilitary force and providing CIA agents with safehouses.
The Times quoted Karzai as denying he has been paid by the CIA or has played a role in the opium trade that helps fund the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan.
But Karzai acknowledged providing information to U.S. intelligence officials without compensation.
CIA officials declined comment.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.