Mr. Patrick:
Below is the text of the article published in Ha'aretz an Israeli English language newspaper.
It was printed earlier in the thread.
Try this link or search Aharoni in the Ha'aretz home page
Message 3112578
As for your threats, you would more effectively frighten Mr. pink if you asserted leprechaun powers. Mr. Pink doubts future inmate Aharoni wants to draw more attention to himself. He has enough problems in Israel and Mr. Pink doubts Aharoni would want record regarding the bogus BVI financing (just a shell company) exposed if subpoenaed.
Perhaps you should stock up on some good Irish stout or some whisky. You obviously were consuming some when you made your decision. You will need some more when ACTRADE GOES TO ZERO.
Monday, October 20, 1997
Aharoni fled to U.S. and made good
By Nathan Lipson
Before he left the country, Amos Aharoni led an ostentatious life: his name appeared often in the papers, he married a beautiful woman and he had a long list of girlfriends. He dealt in a wide variety of fields, but mainly in the grey market. He was said to be extraordinarily charming and "a bit of a show-off." After his escape, he told journalists, "I only went to the United States for four days, to raise a bit of money and return, but because my property was confiscated, I have decided to stay here for a little longer to try and make money here, to pay back my creditors later."
Just like Yuval Ran of the 1990s. Aharoni fled to the United States at the end of 1985, leaving debts of millions of dollars to banks and to private individuals, especially from Jerusalem. His escape was bad news for his creditors, but what has happened to him since is excellent news, because Aharoni can now pay back all of his debts and still be rich: Amos Aharoni controls a financing and export company in New York, which is worth $130 million in the market. His own shares, which make up about 63 percent of the company, are today worth about $85 million.
Aharoni grew from being the finance manager of the American tool exporter Acquisition Capability (which changed its name to Actrade International in October 1992) to being its director general, president, and major share-holder. Until one year ago, the company's annual profit was not worth mentioning. Now the company has reported a net profit of about $2 million.
Aharoni was 39 when he fled Israel and settled in New York. His story is so similar to this year's escape of promising 37-year-old entrepreneur Yuval Ran, that their skyrocketing and plunging business activities can be told as the same story with only a few adjustments.
Amos Aharoni made headlines 28 years ago, when in May, 1969, he ran for chairman of the students' union at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He headed a non-affiliated party called "The Bloc," and at the end of coalition negotiations, he was appointed chairman. Though he held the position for less than a year, he continued to be involved in various activities. In the end of the 1970s he chaired the Betar Jerusalem soccer team. There, too, he was not very successful and soon had to quit.
His political career did not take off and he went into business. Aharoni concentrated his businesses in a long list of companies bearing the name "Mentor" - Mentor Credit Club, Mentor Communications, Mentor Insurance, Mentor Tourism, Mentor Diamonds, and other companies. In the framework of his business, he bought, in 1983, the broadcasting rights of Israel TV for distribution in the United States.
Like Yuval Ran in the 1990s, Aharoni was active mostly in the grey market. At the time, the grey market was not very advanced, but even then, one way to get into it was to buy companies in debt. Because these businesses were in dire need of cash, Aharoni could buy them cheaply, hoping to collect the debts and make a profit. To finance a part of his activities, Aharoni took loans from commercial banks and from private citizens. The guarantees against these loans were often the same indebted businesses that he had bought.
So Aharoni failed in business as well. In November 1985 reports began to appear about his "surprise" departure from the country. His friends kept reassuring everybody that this was another "routine trip."
In January 1986, Aharoni had not yet returned. In addition to his creditors, he left behind his wife, Clara, and their children - just like Yuval Ran. This fact was made into a mini tragedy in the media, following remarks by his wife, who said she was "left with four children and 100 shekels, and that's it."
Declarations aside, in April, 1986, Clara Aharoni was no longer in the country. She had joined her husband in New York. So here, too, the case is practically identical to Yuval Ran's. Ran left the country in the second half of April, 1997. People close to him, including his lawyer, Yalon Hecht, claimed immediately afterward that this was a routine trip and hushed the evil rumors of Ran's "escape."
His wife, Tsili, joined the reassuring announcements of his friends, saying he would "return in a week." As opposed to Clara Aharoni, Tsili Ran did not give many interviews to the media. She did, however, leave the country with her children - four months after her husband fled - and has been with him ever since. According to press reports, the Rans have been cited recently in Texas.
Amos Aharoni refused to comment on this report
c copyright 1998 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
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