AP

RAMALLAH THE shadowy financial adviser of the late Yasser Arafat is being sought on suspicion he stole millions of dollars in public funds, the top Palestinian anti-corruption campaigner said Wednesday.

It is the highest profile investigation since President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority established an Anti-Corruption Commission and a special court two years ago to deal with such cases, the panel’s chief, Rafik Natche, said.

The former financial adviser, Mohammed Rashid, is suspected of transferring millions of dollars out of the Palestinian Investment Fund and setting up fake companies, Natche said.

Rashid has in the past denied wrongdoing.

In comments posted on the website Inlightpress, which is linked to him, Rashid said he would not respond to the allegations, but also seemed to be threatening to disclose purported secrets about Abbas.

The Palestinian leader “made a huge mistake and must suffer the consequences,” Rashid wrote on Tuesday, without elaborating. In a separate section, the website announced it would soon run a series of articles by Rashid about the circumstances of Abbas’ rise to power.

Rashid left the Palestinian territories after Arafat’s death in 2004 and is moving between countries, Natche said. The Palestinian foreign and justice ministries have asked several countries to extradite Rashid and freeze his assets, Natche added, but declined to say which countries are involved.

Earlier, he told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that Interpol is also being asked for help.