Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from the Afghan capital, said there was anger and disbelief in the courtroom as the verdict against Sher Khan Farnoud, the bank's founder and chairman, and Khalilullah Ferozi, chief executive of the bank, was announced on Tuesday.
Turton said some people in the courtroom felt there was a mishandling of the investigation into the multi-million-dollar fraud that caused the collapse of the Kabul Bank in 2010.
Shamsul Rahman Shams, the judge, said the men must pay back the money they gained from the corruption described as a "Ponzi scheme" by international investigators.
The verdict comes after three years of investigations detailed how massive off-book loans, lavish purchases and 114 rubber stamps used for fake companies helped contribute to the embezzlement of more than $900m from the bank.
