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| Middle East |
| Arafat diverted $1.35bn: IMF |
| 2003-09-20 |
| From correspondents in Dubai, United Arab Emirates September 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 figure’d 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 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 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 we’re 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 |
| #5 It is obvious that the PA needs an audit and tighter controls on the petty cash fund... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-20 2:51:00 PM |
| #4 Hey, if there is American tax dollars going into the Arafat slush fund, those truncheons better say "Louisville Slugger" on them. It's made in America if my bucks are going to subjegate the populus. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-20 2:25:22 PM |
| #3 Give the weenie a break. We all know those roads to peace cost a lot of money. |
| Posted by: Douglas De Bono 2003-9-20 2:08:24 PM |
| #2 The Palestinian economy has contracted by 30 per cent because of the Palestinian-Israeli violence over the last three years and IMF officials said it needs an injection of about $US1.2 billion ($A1.81 billion) in assistance. And this money would no doubt be used for purchasing weapons and printing up hateful school textbooks, not to mention being skimmed again if Arafart and his cronies aren't killed off. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-9-20 1:13:42 PM |
| #1 Frank - you left out the closer (snicker): "Agence France-Presse" WTF is a "Palestinian asset"? A Burger King in Bangkok? It is a joke to imply that the average Paleos get any benefit from funds under a single autocratic induhvidual's control - especially one as corrupt as Arafish. AFP made certain that no direct quotes regards outright corruption are in the piece, only some watered-down implications, though I have no doubt a bona-fide story would have contained one or more from credible sources. These would probably not be difficult to obtain. And that make this little gem even more stupefying: The Palestinian economy has contracted by 30 per cent because of the Palestinian-Israeli violence over the last three years and IMF officials said it needs an injection of about $US1.2 billion ($A1.81 billion) in assistance. Great. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-9-20 12:26:39 PM |