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Arafat's Swiss Bank Account

(Washington Post/AP) Laurie Copans - $300 million was transferred to Yasser Arafat through a secret Swiss bank account, Ozrad Lev, an accountant and former assistant to one-time Israeli envoy Yossi Ginossar, disclosed Thursday. Lev said he and Ginossar helped open and manage the Swiss account for Arafat at Lombard Odier & Cie. in April 1997. The U.S. and European donors to the Palestinian Authority - as well as the World Bank and new Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad - have been searching for the funds since Arafat aide Mohammed Rashid withdrew them last year. Rashid oversees Arafat's secret funds and is seen as a key figure behind alleged corruption in the Palestinian Authority, Maariv reported. Ginossar - who oversaw top negotiations with the Palestinians for almost a decade until last year - managed Rashid's funds, "using them as his own, establishing countless offshore companies (and) secretly paying Mohammed Rashid set percentages and commissions from gas and cement deals in Israel," from which he also took a cut. Rashid told Lev that he made "at least $10 million" for Ginossar, according to Maariv. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stopped using Ginossar as a negotiator last year upon recommendations of Israel's attorney general following allegations that Ginossar had business ties with the Palestinian Authority.
2002-12-06 00:00:00
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