LONDON - Afghanistan's central bank on Wednesday urged all Afghans to use the country's local currency.

"All Afghans, and government and private institutions are requested to use the afghani in contracts and other monetary transactions and trade to improve economic growth," the bank said in a statement posted on its website.

In a separate statement, the central bank said it had seized more than $12 million in cash and gold from high-ranking officials in the previous government, including former vice president Amrullah Saleh.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Tom Arnold) ((marc.jones@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0)20 7513 4042; Reuters Messaging: marc.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net Twitter @marcjonesrtrs))