1.6 KiB
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Private Organization | Drexel Burnham was the investment bank where Michael Milken built his junk-bond empire, and whose financial infrastructure, according to Ari Ben-Menashe, was used by the Iran-Israel Joint Committee slush fund to finance covert activities. | 1935 | 1990 | New York City |
Drexel Burnham was a prominent brokerage house where Michael Milken built his junk-bond fortune. According to Ari Ben-Menashe, it was involved in the financial operations of the Iran-Israel Joint Committee's slush fund, which was used to finance various covert activities and political initiatives.
Ben-Menashe wrote that large amounts of money from the arms sales to Iran, along with profits from earlier deals, were held at various interest rates by Drexel on behalf of Israel front companies after being funneled through United States banks. He wrote that these large deposits contributed to Drexel's stature and helped underwrite huge quantities of junk bonds.1
He wrote that in 1987 the Iran-Israel Joint Committee decided to withdraw its funds from Drexel and from the control of Menachem Schneerson (Lubavitcher Rebbe), and that this decision was influenced by concerns that the funds might be frozen if relations between Israel and the U.S. deteriorated, and contributed to Milken's growing troubles and ultimately to the fall of Drexel.1
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. Sheridan Square Press, 1992 (TrineDay reprint, 2015). ↩︎