Arafat, where’s the money?
The problem is that Arafat is still the only Palestinian official who can pay the bills. And it is unclear who, if anyone, has access to the estimated $2-3 billion in his personal Swiss bank accounts, according to a report in the current edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com. Even his wife is said to be unaware of how to access the funds.
I remember last year when Arafat (along with Castro and other dictators) were listed in Forbes wealthiest individuals issue because of the personal fortunes they had amassed while immiserating their people, but this situation (if true) is almost beyond comprehension.
For Palestinians, the main question is where is Arafat’s money?
Issam Abu Issa knows how Arafat appropriated and concealed money. Abu Issa was the founder and chairman of the Palestine International Bank from 1996 until he fled to Qatar in 2000.
“Rather than use donor funds for their intended purposes, Arafat regularly diverted money to his own accounts,” Abu Issa said in a report for Middle East Quarterly. “It is amazing that some U.S. officials still see the Palestinian Authority as a partner even after U.S. congressional records revealed authenticated PLO papers signed by Arafat in which he instructed his staff to divert donors’ money to projects benefiting himself, his family and his associates.”
Arafat controls billions of dollars meant for the Palestinian people. In a word, he stole it, intelligence sources said, according to the Geostrategy-Direct report.
His personal fortune has been estimated at between $2 and $3 billion, most of it in Swiss bank accounts.
I hope the Swiss can get this money into responsible hands so it can actually help the people of Palestine, but the question is, where are the responsible hands?
(Hat tip Roger L Simon)
April 1st, 2007 at 09:20
53318346ec209873d8e9
53318346ec20