Palestinian heavyweights pop up in offshore dealings documents

Ever since the inception of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1994, local and international organisations have repeatedly issued reports on the rampant corruption plaguing its ministries and departments. The problem is not limited to administrative and financial excesses committed by irresponsible individuals for personal motives, but rather is seems entrenched in the PA’s structure. The most recent corruption case was revealed by the so-called “Panama Papers,” which were published early this month. The Panama Papers exposed the involvement of international figures, which also includes notable Palestinians, in tax evasion and money laundering, Tareq Abbas, the son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was among the Palestinian names contained in the papers. According to these documents, junior Abbas secretly owns, in partnership with the PA, a holding company worth more than $1m in the British Virgin Islands. Abbas had not made any statement on this yet. However, a Palestinian political aide close to Abbas, on condition of anonymity, said: “What has been published in the Panama Papers is part of a campaign against both the president and his family. This campaign goes in line with recently published Israeli allegations aimed at tarnishing his image and promoting corruption charges against his family without any supporting legal documents. The president does not have to respond to every piece of news being published here or there.” The Israeli newspaper NRG ran an article on March 12 on what it views as the Abbas family’s ill-gotten fortune. On April 10, popular newspaper Haaretz accused Palestinian officials close to Abbas of using their government posts to further their own personal interests. Another significant name emerged from the leaked document is Mohammed Mustafa, the former Palestinian deputy prime minister who resigned in 2015 and current head of the Palestine Investment Fund. He is also the head of the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC), one of the largest companies in Palestine with more than 1,500 employees. Mustafa’s office issued a statement saying: “The information contained in the Panama Papers with regard to my membership in the APIC is no secret and is even available to the public. It surprises me that some media outlets have brought this up with no grounds, and I call on these outlets to stick to their ethics, to stay away from vague intimidating headlines and to rely on original sources and concerned individuals.” Tarek Aggad, chairman of APIC’s board of directors, announced April 8 that the company is subject to the authority of the Palestinian regulatory authorities, which publishes financial reports, and has paid more than $1bn to the Palestinian Finance Ministry in taxes, customs and fees. He also noted that its employees do not have any interests that could be considered monopolies. It should be noted that Tareq Abbas, the president’s son, is one of the company’s executive directors. Any Palestinian judicial action is yet to be taken to investigate the revelations of the Panama Papers as of today. Rafiq al-Natsheh, chairman of the PA’s Anti-Corruption Commission, has declined to comment on the matter since “he was not sufficiently informed of the Panama Papers’ content.” Meanwhile, Azmi Shuaibi, the coordinator of Palestinian civil society platform Coalition for Accountability and Integrity, stressed on April 8 the need to investigate the names contained in the Panama Papers. Observers say corruption in the PA is driven by the clientelism that governs relations within its institutions and departments and gives the Palestinian ruling elite a strategic tool to control the popular bases and expand its network of supporters by redistributing public resources and buying political allegiances. These methods have enabled the PA to maintain the status quo, dominate political and economic assets, and implement its political agenda without facing any effective opposition. The disclosure of the Panama Papers coincided with the results of a Palestinian poll that were issued on April 4 by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in the West Bank. The poll found that 79% of respondents believe there is corruption in the PA. Mohammed Abu Giab, the editor-in-chief of Saudi-based al-Eqtesadia magazine, said: “The documents will have a dramatic impact on two levels in the region. The first is political, as the PA might face international pressure and accountability regarding its role in the use of funds out of the view of international eyes. The second is economic, as international efforts to revive the Palestinian economy could slow down.” The Panama Papers may have highlighted some of the heavy corruption plaguing the PA, such as money laundering and tax evasion, but there are many more problems, including the direct theft of public money, the receipt of bribes in exchange for government services, the involvement of high-level Palestinian officials in private commercial companies, the ownership and transfer of government land to officials, world travel at the PA’s expense and the appointment of relatives in government jobs.