by Akiva Bigman
Bank's employees took part in the Europe-Iran Forum which was designed to properly prepare and evaluate the post-sanctions trade framework and investment opportunities.
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Former Prime
Minister Ehud Barak
Photo: Gideon Markowicz
Ever
since he left politics in March 2013, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak
has been actively pursuing various business opportunities in a variety
of fields, and has also served as a strategic adviser to a number of
international corporations.
Some four months after leaving public life,
Barak became a senior consultant for the CEO of the Swiss bank Julius
Bär, Boris Collardi.
Barak is a member of a select group of
international consultants who meet once every six months. "Barak advises
the CEO on geopolitical matters," Stephen Kamp, a senior executive at
Julius Bär told TheMarker in February 2014.
"It is important for financial bodies to
get information from someone who was part of the political world for
many years, who can share things about what takes place behind the
scenes, what the political discourse looks like and what is happening in
various parts of the world. It is also important for them to take
advantage of opportunities in those places," he said. "He advises on
these matters and opens doors."
Barak revealed that he has an account in
Julius Bär. The bank only manages accounts for clients who have at least
a million dollars.
Israel Hayom has learned that Julius Bär's employees have taken part in
the Europe-Iran Forum, a business conference that convenes annually. The
forum is designed to enhance business ties between the Iranian business
community and European companies.
The first conference took place in London
in October 2013, when the nuclear talks were still underway. The
conference was designed to "properly prepare and evaluate the
post-sanctions trade framework and investment opportunities." President
Hassan Rouhani also sent a letter praising the effort.
A Gatestone Institute report said the
conference included many business leaders from Iran who were closely
associated with the Iranian regime's hostile activity.
These included:
Rouzbeh Pirouz, the vice president of the
board of directors of Iralco, an Iranian company that had sanctions
imposed on it by the European Union for "directly supporting Iran's
proliferation sensitive nuclear activities."
Sifiso Dabengwa, the head of the MTN Group,
which has been reportedly helping "the Iranian regime terrorize and
oppress its citizens."
Majid Zamani, chief executive of Kardan
Investment Bank, a major Iranian financial firm, whose three leading
shareholders were blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department because of
their alleged efforts to fund the nuclear program and help obtain
yellowcake uranium.
Mohammad Reza Ansari, the chairman of
Kayson, an Iranian company that was accused of being "affiliated with
the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps]," and was blacklisted by
the British government for possible involvement in Iran's weapons of
mass destruction program.
Several of those four also took part in the forum in subsequent years.
Representatives from Europe and around the
world, representing dozens of companies interested in the Iranian market
take part in these forums.
They include Airbus, Mitsubishi and H&M.
Ehud Barak said he considers the 2015
nuclear deal with Iran a "bad deal." He also reportedly favored
attacking Iran's nuclear installations when he was defense minister. But
he has also publicly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
campaign against the deal and attacked him for his address to the U.S.
Congress in March 2015 before the deal was finalized.
In the summer of 2015, ahead of the vote on
whether to approve the lifting of U.S. sanctions, Barak also attacked
Netanyahu's efforts to court members of Congress. "People such as the
prime minister and MKs can talk with the Americans they know and tell
them why Israel opposes the deal, that is a legitimate activity," Barak
told Channel 2. "But Israel, as a country, must not meddle in the
domestic affairs of our best friend."
In response to the claims that Julius Bär
participated in talks with Iranian companies, Israel Hayom received the
following response from Barak's spokesperson: "Mr. Barak has no idea if
the claims are factually correct or whether they are baseless. If the
claims are correct, this is the first time that he is told about them,
and it is also clearly evident that the bank's leadership did not
consult with him on the matters."
Akiva Bigman
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2017/09/14/ex-pm-barak-linked-to-bank-seeking-to-invest-in-iran/
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