Millions missing from PA coffers

[Ezekiel25:17]

http://english.aljazeera.net/english/images/logo_white.gif

Millions missing from PA coffers
by
Sunday 05 February 2006 11:20 AM GMT
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/A8B960F9-3FD5-406A-94E4-B5976B565D20/111496/B0D01EDF3A1B44FAA6ECF1365E69D7E4.jpg There are 50 cases of financial and administrative corruption
At least $700 million of funds from the Palestinian Authority's coffers have been squandered or stolen by officials over the past few years, an internal investigation has revealed.

The news comes as Israeli officials agreed on Sunday to make an overdue payment of about $45 million owed to the Palestinians, but say future transfers will be halted once Hamas forms the next Palestinian government.

Commenting on the PA squandering issue, Ahmed al-Moghani, Palestinian attorney-general, said: "There are 50 cases of financial and administrative corruption. The amount of money that was squandered and stolen is more than $700 million."

Moghani said 25 officials had been arrested so far and 10 had fled abroad. He said the Palestinian Authority was seeking their extradition.
Among the cases under investigation involved a fictitious pipe factory funded by $4 million of Palestinian Authority cash and $2 million of Italian aid money, he said.

"The factory existed only on paper and the investigation is under way to find out where the money went," Moghani said.
Mismanagement

Hamas won the 25 January Palestinian parliamentary election by a landslide on a platform of ending corruption and mismanagement in the Palestinian Authority.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/A8B960F9-3FD5-406A-94E4-B5976B565D20/111495/6290358D76644D04B4815F26244B2F14.jpgHamas leaders are expected to
form a new government
Israel froze the payment last week to protest at Hamas's election victory.
Officials said at the time they wanted assurances that the money would not be used for bombings.
Zeev Boim, Israeli cabinet minister, said on Sunday the money was being transferred because Hamas was not yet part of the government.
"If and when Hamas rises to power and supports policies according to its jihad principles of destroying Israel, not another dollar will be transferred," he said.


Hamas, which remains committed to Israel's destruction, is expected to form a new government in the coming weeks.
Deepening crisis
"If and when Hamas rises to power and supports policies according to its jihad principles of destroying Israel, not another dollar will be transferred"

Zeev Boim
Israeli cabinet minister
Under existing peace accords, Israel collects millions of dollars of taxes for the Palestinians each month, then transfers the money to the Palestinians.
The money is essential for the Palestinian Authority, which employs about 137,000 government workers.
Last week's decision to freeze the payment deepened a crisis for the Palestinians, who had to seek emergency aid from Arab allies to meet their payroll.

AP
By
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A8B960F9-3FD5-406A-94E4-B5976B565D20.htm

[BlackRain]

It is a shame that all those billions of dollars given to the PA by the West were squandered when they could have been used to build infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals, and ordinary sanitation.

This is an old story.

Arab nations halt funding after reports Arafat embezzled aid

Friday, July 26, 2002
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2002/me_palestinians_07_26.html

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ARAFAT'S HIDDEN MILLIONS

Excerpts from Al-Watan al-Arabi
July 12, 2002

The Saudi owned Paris journal Al-Watan al-Arabi reported on
July 12th that most of Arafat's close associates are concerned with the future and asking questions about the billions of dollars reportedly taken by Arafat and they want to know what happened to the money?

The experts say there are at least 7 billion dollars involved that were gathered through numerous devices, including donations from Palestinians employed in the Gulf states and other countries, and financial aid provided by Arab countries.

These billions are now causing secret controversies within the PNA for several reasons that include the possibility that Arafat is finished as leader of the Palestinians. Also upsetting to these searching for the missing funds is the nonexistence of any financial records that prove the quantity of amount of money received by the Palestinian Authority over decades and how this money was spent.

Clearly, the quiet controversy within the PNA is to determine Arafat's complicity in the missing funds and the need for any new president to seize control over this wealth so he can exercise the power necessary for his position.

Al-Watan al-Arabi questions the stories of Yasir Arafat squirreling away billions in secret accounts and asks if this just a story spread by his adversaries and enemies? The journal asks why do the estimates of funds in "secret accounts" vary from about $7 billion to about $40 billion? They ask where are the financial records of funding received by the PLO since its inception in 1964? They ask where are the financial records of the PLO expenditures?

They ask why did Palestinian financial records disappear after each upheaval affecting the PLO? The journals point out that all the PLO's records vanished when it left Amman during the PLO's presence in Jordan. And the records in Beirut also vanished when Palestinian fighters left Lebanon as they vanished in every other instance.

The journal also reports that high-level Palestinian figures are speaking out about Arafat's wealth and the PNA's need for these funds to assist in forming a state. Additionally, they report that sacked Palestinian security figures leaked details of Arafat's wealth and said that they have documents to prove their assertion.

Moreover, the journal reports that informed sources revealed that the United States government prepared a secret file about Arafat's wealth. They say that the file contains information about Arafat's fiscal assets and secret accounts and documents containing the names of Palestinian and Arab 'businessmen'; but whose real job is to manage these funds for Arafat.

They add that the file has information about property owned by Arafat in many countries, including South America. These properties are described as large plantations that along with cash investments and shares are in the names of Arafat's representatives.

The journal says that United States sources leaked information about this file to Arab and Palestinian personalities and would use the information later on to ensure that this wealth will be transferred officially to the PNA and then to the proposed state.

Al-Watan al-Arabi closes by asking is Arafat going to disclose the funds owned by the Palestinian Authority registered in his name or in the names of unknown businessmen? Or will the Palestinian people stay poor?

[americanbychoice]

Commenting on the PA squandering issue, Ahmed al-Moghani, Palestinian attorney-general, said: "There are 50 cases of financial and administrative corruption. The amount of money that was squandered and stolen is more than $700 million."

#1. I am surprised that they have admitted this.
#2. I am surprised that al Jazeera is reporting this... although with the cover of the "evil Zionist cartoons", I suppose this is a good time to point out the fact that Palestinians have had a lot to do with the suffering of the Palestinian people.*
#3. I am surprised that the amount of stolen money is only $700 million... the headline clearly under-reports what is definitely in the hundres of millions, and probably into the billions of stolen $$$.

* To the freak Osama: Take that in your hookah and smoke it, bin Laden. The UN & Saddam himself starved the Iraqi people... the Palestinians themselves starved the Palestinian people. You want to admit 9/11 was a fcuk up yet?

[Laworkerbee]

Zionist bankers stole it all after murdering Arafat p-)

[Omaha]

That money isn't missing....it is tied up in asset investment.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/graphics/photos/terrorists_spies/terrorists/palestinians/9-1-Raiyshi-female-suicide-bomb.jpg

[David Tate]

Looks like Yassar taught them well.

[alexz]

And every left wing NGO and "Human right org" will claim they are poor
because of Israel.