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Arafat diverted $1.35bn: IMF
From correspondents in Dubai, United Arab EmiratesSeptember 21, 2003 AN audit of the Palestinian Authority revealed that President Yasser Arafat had diverted $US900 million ($A1.35 billion) 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 today. Really? I thought the figureâd be higher...by the way, Palestinian assets = Suha? Karim Nashashibi, IMF resident representative in the West Bank and Gaza, credited openness and transparency in the Palestinian Authorityâs 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 privatise 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. "In any system you can always have a possibility of misuse of funds," Nashashibi said. "But what weâre trying to do is have a level of disclosure and transparency so that future or present misuse does not happen ... At least there is a follow up, there is disclosure." thank you IMF..bastards Posted by: Frank G 2003-09-20 |
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