Len, here is the real reason palestinians strap bombs to their belts and want to die for their leader: It is so they dont learn about his rape of their treasury:
Arafat invested $8 mil. in Israeli venture fund Evergreen III
By Zuri Dar
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has
invested in Israeli venture capital fund Evergreen
and U.S. venture fund Canaan Partners. An
investigation by the American CBS network's "60
Minutes," broadcast last Sunday, revealed Arafat
to be worth anywhere between $1 billion and $3
billion. Most of the huge fortune stems from taxes
collected by the PA from Palestinians and
transferred to Arafat's accounts, as well as tens
of millions of dollars in personal donations from
world leaders and contributors, including Saddam
Hussein and Saudi princes.
The enormous wealth is
invested by a fund called the
Palestine Investment Fund in
dozens of companies and
businesses worldwide,
including venture capital
funds in the U.S. and Cayman
Islands.
Due to pressure from the
Palestinian street to investigate corruption in
the PA, Palestinian Finance Minister Salam
Fayad, with help from Standard and Poor's,
published PIF's investment portfolio.
The assets include investments in Evergreen III
LP - a $140 million foreign investors
partnership registered in the Cayman Islands,
along with a $30 million Israeli partnership.
PIF invested $8 million in the Cayman
partnership, holding a 5.5 percent stake.
PIF also has an interest in the Peace Technology
Fund, established by Evergreen in late 1999.
One-third of the fund is held by major
international investors, including Philips and
Daimler Benz. Another third, 34 percent, is
held by the PIF. The $63 million was earmarked
for technology projects in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. The fund froze activities at the
outbreak of the Al-Aqsa uprising.
Evergreen's most prominent exits include the
$550 million sale of wireless Internet company
Exalink to Comverse. Evergreen chalked up $80
million in gains on that deal, and transferred
the appropriate shares to its investors,
including Arafat.
PIF also has holdings in U.S. venture capital
group Canaan Partners. The Palestinian fund
made a $1.8 million investment in Canaan Equity
II and a $2.8 million investment in Canaan
Equity III. The Canaan private equity group is
invested in Israeli startups Business Layers
and now-defunct Ultra-Guide.
The "60 Minutes" report said Arafat is
transferring $100,000 a month in PA monies to
his wife, Suha, who is living in Paris. The
report says the money goes to support a
luxurious lifestyle for 40-year-old Suha and
the couple's 8-year-old daughter Zahwa.
Leslie Stahl of "60 Minutes" met in Paris with
Raymonda Tawil, Suha Arafat's mother, and
reported that she is also living a life of
luxury. The report emphasized that Suha
Arafat's monthly support payments come from
Palestinian Authority public monies in Yasser
Arafat's private accounts.
Stahl also interviewed Fayad, who related his
efforts to expose the graft of the Palestinian
Authority in the past, and to uncover secret
bank accounts to which Palestinian money was
being transferred.
Sources at Evergreen confirmed that PIF is
invested in Evergreen III. A source at the fund
stated, "We have no problem with the fact the
source of the funds is the Palestinian
Authority. If we get money from Bank of
America, we don't check where it came from. By
the same standard, we don't know if Arafat is
the source of the PIF money and don't get into
political questions. PIF is an excellent
investor that transfers its commitments to
every capital call in a timely fashion and we
hope to continue to work with them on peaceful
terms." |
