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Palestinians Demand Missing PA Money

(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - A group of Palestinian legislators, who form the 9-member Democratic Bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, is demanding an investigation into the whereabouts of hundreds of millions of dollars belonging to the Palestinian people. Hassan Khraisheh said he and his colleagues believe that Arafat's adviser on economic affairs, Muhammad Rashid, is holding at least $200 million in a secret bank account. Rashid is now living in Cairo after he reportedly fell out with Arafat. According to a report released last September by the IMF, $591m. in tax revenue and an additional $300m. in profits from commercial investments were "diverted away from the budget." In other words, PA officials stole the money. The report said petroleum duties paid via Israeli customs were not reaching the PA Finance Ministry, but were instead being deposited in a private account controlled by Arafat and Rashid in an Israeli bank in Tel Aviv. "Senior officials control many monopolies and deposit the money in secret bank accounts abroad. We have also discovered that the Palestinian Authority has a secret bank account in Switzerland. That's where they deposit tax revenues from the workers paid by Israel," said Khraisheh. Khraisheh said Arafat and Rashid have exclusive control over the Swiss bank accounts.
2003-10-27 00:00:00
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