CIA estimates Arafat fortune at 1.5 BILLION dollar

Dutch daily De Telegraaf (Dutch) has a report stating the CIA has discovered an extensive network of business interests and bank accounts in the name of Yasser Arafat and his organization, the PLO. Total value is estimated by the CIA at roughly 1.5 billion dollar. Source is the Austrian magazine Format.

The network stretches from Canada, via the Caribbean to North-Africa. Companies include a Canadian pharmaceutical company, telecoms in the Middle-East and N-Africa, US-based investment companies, and mailbox companies in the taxhaven of Aruba.