IMF: Arafat diverted $900M of public funds to special account

[bemildred]

In a rather weasely way, this say that no misuse of the money
was found, so far.

DUBAI - An audit of the Palestinian Authority
revealed that PA Chairman Yasser Arafat had
diverted $900 million in public funds to a special
bank account he controlled and most of the
money
was later invested in Palestinian assets, an
International Monetary Fund official said


Saturday.

Karim Nashashibi, IMF resident
representative in the West
Bank
and Gaza, credited openness
and
transparency in the Palestinian
Authority's accounting under
Finance Minister Salam Fayad
for disclosing the transfers
between 1995 and 2000.

The large majority of the money was invested in
Palestinian assets at home and abroad,
Nashashibi said. A Palestinian Investment Fund
was established to manage those assets and
privatize them, he added.

But the IMF official did not rule out the
possibility of the remaining funds being
misused, saying he believes an audit of the
remaining funds will be conducted later.

Haaretz

[Darranar]

1. Arafat, Sharon...

two corrupted leaders.

[joeybee12]

2. Consider the source...

...I'm no fan of Arafat, but this stinks of a plant. Lots of allegations, no proof.

Face it, Israel blew it by saying they would kill Arafat. They've now isolated themselves in the world even more.

[Brucey]

3. Agree.

[Darranar]

5. I don't know about the truth of the article...

but the corruption of such leaders is not a rare event. I sincerely doubt that Arafat wouldn't funnel money out from these aid sources if he could.

[Gimel]

7. Many credible references

Take the IMF, for instance.

Karim Nashashibi, IMF resident
representative in the West Bank
and Gaza, credited openness and
transparency in the Palestinian
Authority's accounting under
Finance Minister Salam Fayad
for disclosing the transfers
between 1995 and 2000.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/342236.html

Forbes Magazine:

In
a special annual issue of Forbes Magazine,
Arafat was reported to control US$300 million,
making him among one of the richest in its
category of "Kings, Queens and Despots."

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/342236.html

I found this list. Arafat is listed just below Queen Elizabeth II:

Queen Elizabeth II Queen/United Kingdom 76 525 million
Yasir Arafat President/Palestinian Authority 73 300 million
http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/0317/068.html

Ha'aretz is a credible source as well.

On edit: Here's the Forbes article:

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/0317/049.html

[Paschall]

4. I would have said the opposite

That this, in a rather weasely way, implies there was abuse of funds, though none has been found.

The EU has been implemental in trying to make the PA financial situation more transparent. EU funding to the PA has been conditioned on accounting reforms.

[bemildred]

6. That works too.

[calkooni]

8. A diversion from Israels isolation

I think Arafat as the elected President of the Palestinian people has every right to hold he fund in trust. Especially if Israel kicks him out of Palestine, he'd certianly need to have complete control over the fund to manage his activities as the elected President.


Isn't Israel responsible for all funding required by the Palestinians as an occupying force?

[bemildred]

9. It would seem so, aside from diversion into his own pocket.

Nobody seems to question Mr. Bush or Mr. Sharon's right to blow
billions on their individual pursuits of folly. Mr. Arafat, based
on what is here, seems at least to have invested it.

[Equinox]

10. The title is very misleading.

n/t