1.3 KiB
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Banque Worms was a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, that played a role in the financial transactions related to Israel arms sales to Iran and the release of USA hostages.1
In April 1980, Sayeed Mehdi Kashani opened a numbered account at Banque Worms and deposited $270,000 for the purchase of tires from Israel. This marked the beginning of the extra-budgetary Likud Party/intelligence community slush fund.1
In December 1980, $40 million in bank checks, part of a $56 million payment for the release of USA hostages, were drawn on Banque Worms. Ari Ben-Menashe deposited $52 million of this money into Sayeed Mehdi Kashani safe deposit box at Banque Worms. The remaining $4 million was deposited into Earl Brian account at Valley National Bank of Arizona.1
Profits from the sales of tires and wheelbases to Iran ($956,000) were also deposited into Banque Worms to initiate the slush fund. Ari Ben-Menashe later opened a special account at Banque Worms for these profits.1
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War") ↩︎