Mossad chief uses intelligence connections to join Gulf wealth fund
Outgoing Mossad Director Yossi Cohen attempted to privately negotiate himself into a joint investment fund with Gulf states in recent weeks.
Cohen had been in closed-door talks with former US Treasury
secretary Steve Mnuchin about joining the former secretary's wealth fund, while
heading the intelligence liaison with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab
Emirates (UAE), to which the fund is directed.
However, entering the fund could conflict with the
"cooling off" period that Cohen will have to endure for a period of
time, as is required by law after retiring.
Cohen, who is friends with Mnuchin, will end his tenure as
head of the Mossad next week. The talks between Cohen and Mnuchin began a few
weeks ago, however, and a source who spoke with Cohen said that the outgoing
Mossad director had not yet made a final decision on joining the wealth fund.
The fund itself is expected to raise money from sovereign
wealth funds in the Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, the latter
two of which are already evaluating cooperation with the Mnuchin Fund,
according to sources close to the matter.
Former United States ambassador to Israel David Friedman is
also expected to work with the Mnuchin wealth fund.
During Trump's tenure, Friedman worked with Cohen on a range
of political and security issues, including relations and the US-brokered
normalization agreements between Israel and the Gulf states.
Both Mnuchin and Cohen worked closely with senior officials
in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia during their government
tenure, visiting these countries frequently.
The Mossad is primarily responsible for relations with
Qatar, which heads negotiations between Israel and Gaza.
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