'Fatah has secret bank account in Jordan'

Former Arafat advisor reveals that he has all necessary documents to prove existence of account with $39 million.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
US dollars 390 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
US dollars 390
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Yasser Arafat's former financial advisor, Mohammed Rashid, revealed over the weekend that Fatah has a secret bank account in Jordan with $39 million.
Rashid said that the original sum was $44 million, but dropped after the Fatah leadership spent $5 million on the faction's sixth annual conference.
Rashid, who was Arafat's "moneyman" for many years, said he had all the necessary documents to prove the existence of the bank account.
He said that only PA President Mahmoud Abbas and two of his associates were authorized to deal with the secret account.
"According to my documents, $13 million came for the US, while the remaining sum came from  friendly Arab countries," Rashid said. He challenged Abbas to deny the existence of the account, saying he would then reveal the identity of the two associates and the name of the bank and the Arab countries that deposited the money.
Rashid pointed out that Abbas had long been denying the existence of such a bank account for Fatah.
Rashid's revelations are part of what Palestinians describe as a "dirty war" that has erupted between him and Abbas.
Last week a PA court in Ramallah sentenced Rashid in absentia to 15 years in prison and a $15 million fine on charges of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.
The decision to prosecute the former Arafat advisor came after he appeared on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV station and criticized the PA leadership. Rashid has since threatened to expose corruption scandals involving Abbas and his two businessmen sons, Yasser and Tarek.
The Fatah Central Committee, a body dominated by Abbas loyalists, Saturday launched a scathing attack on Rashid, who is a Kurd from Iraq, and dubbed him a "criminal" and traitor."
The committee said in a communiqué issued in Ramallah that Rashid was "playing a central role in a new conspiracy against [PA] President Abbas, who represents the will of the Palestinian people and who has become a symbol of steadfastness in the face of pressure and plots."