To: Wharf Rat who wrote (377097 ) 7/15/2018 9:50:29 PM From: Sam Respond to The dignity of three armies and the honor of their countries is involved, Mr. Arafat said at his news conference. I ask Italy, France and the United States: What of your promise to protect the inhabitants of Beirut? en.wikipedia.org Bank Leumi , in Tel Aviv. [136] Israeli Military Intelligence Chief alleged that Arafat's personal wealth was in the range of US$1.3 billion. [137] In 2003 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted an audit of the PNA and stated that Arafat diverted $900 million in public funds to a special bank account controlled by Arafat and the PNA Chief Economic Financial adviser. However, the IMF did not claim that there were any improprieties, and it specifically stated that most of the funds had been used to invest in Palestinian assets, both internally and abroad. [138] [139] finance ministry —began examining Arafat's finances. In its conclusions, the team claimed that part of the Palestinian leader's wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion, with investments in companies like a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah , a Tunisian cell phone company and venture capital funds in the US and the Cayman Islands . The head of the investigation stated that "although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. And none of these dealings were made public." [140] An investigation conducted by the General Accounting Office reported that Arafat and the PLO held over $10 billion in assets even at the time when he was publicly claiming bankruptcy. [141] en.wikipedia.org
