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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Arafat moneyman gets 15 years for corruption |
| 2012-06-07 |
| The Palestinian anti-corruption court on Thursday convicted the fugitive moneyman of the late leader Yasser Arafat of siphoning off millions of dollars in public funds, sentencing him to 15 years in prison. The court, concluding its highest-profile probe, found Mohammed Rashid guilty of embezzlement and money laundering. In addition to the prison sentence, he was also fined $15 million and his properties were ordered confiscated. He and two associates were convicted of taking a total of $33.5 million from the foreign donor-financed Palestinian Investment Fund. Rashid, who in the past has denied wrongdoing, was sentenced in absentia by the court in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He left the Palestinian territories after Arafat's death in November 2004 and has rarely been seen since. He is said to hold business interests in four Middle Eastern countries and Montenegro. The Palestinian Authority has asked those countries to freeze his assets and extradite him. "Without doubt the money of the Palestinian people will return to the people, sooner or later," promised Rafik Natche, head of the Palestinian anti-corruption commission, after the conviction. |
| Posted by:tipper |