Palestine Investment Fund


The Palestine Investment Fund was established in 2003 as an independent investment company aiming to strengthen the local economy through strategic investments, while maximising long-run returns for its ultimate shareholder; the people of Palestine. It was created by a transfer of assets previously managed by the Palestinian Authority. Since January 2009, Mohammad Mustafa has been the chairman and co-president of the company.
Its assets total $800m.
According to one source, the PIF does two internal audits; one from PricewaterhouseCoopers and another by an internal audit unit. External audits are undertaken by Ernst and Young, who have independently verified that PIF’s financials are in accordance with international auditing standards. Furthermore, the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau audits the PIF’s governance and financial systems and, in addition, scores the performance of its internal auditing systems. Even further, the PIF is partners with US OPIC, UK DFID, and the World Bank’s IFC.
The fund has signed up to the Santiago Principles on best practices for managing Sovereign Wealth Funds and joined the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Under Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, the PIF was celebrated for its transparent business practices, but since 2011, it has become involved in funding more and more questionable projects.

Controversies

In June 2012, Mohammed Rashid, the former economic adviser to Yasser Arafat, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of embezzling from PIF, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority. He was also given a $15 million fine and was ordered to repay the $34 million he embezzled.
In April 2016, Mohammad Mustafa, the company's chairman and co-president, has been named in the Panama Papers.

Investments

The PIF’s wholly owned subsidiaries include:
The PIF has a minority stake in the following projects: