President Of An Israeli Company Interested In Investing 220 Million Euros Hospital In The Gambia, Allegedly Linked To Mediating $ 100 Million Arms Sales To The Gov’t Of Equatorial Guinea

An Israeli Newspaper Haaretz is reporting that Ms. Yardena Ovadia the president of the International Medical Services, whose company recently promised to invest 220 million Euros hospital facility in the Gambia, is also serving as a mediator in arms sales to the African nation of Equatorial Guinea for sums of up to $100 million, the Freedom Newspaper can report. Ms. Ovadia is the Honorary Consul for the government of Equatorial Guinea in Israel.

“One such deal involved sales by Israel Shipyards Ltd. and Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) to the country’s military, including four Shaldag patrol and escort boats and a Sa’ar missile boat. They are also reportedly building a dockyard in the country,” the paper added.

President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea hosted the exile Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, his family and former security aides. This followed the defeated of Jammeh by Adama Barrow, in Gambia’s past presidential elections in December of 2016.

President Teodoro Obiang came to power in 1979, through a bloody coup. He has since been ruling that country with heavy handedness.

IMS President Ovadia Yardena said during a visit to president Adama Barrow that her group was committed to promoting health tourism in The Gambia, and was set to build a 220 million Euro modern 350-bed hospital.  Sh said the hospital would likely result in other African countries reaching out to The Gambia for health care services, and would provide other development avenues.

Elaborating on the investment model, Ms. Yardena said the hospital would be 100 percent funded by IMS, including engineering, procurement and construction. The financing loan is to have a five-year grace period and would be paid between 15 to 17 years after 10 years of operation. The project contract would include provision for upgrading some of the existing state hospitals and health facilities.

The Permanent Secretary for Investment at the Office of the President, Yankuba Saidy, said investment in the health sector is a priority for the Barrow administration.  He said the investment plan will include skills and transfer of knowledge to Gambian counterparts. Mr Saidy described the project as one of world class standard in providing health care services.

President Barrow was taken through a slide presentation of the full hospital plan, its components, and the hotel and residential areas for staff and families of patients with modern medical equipment and technology.  When completed, said the visiting investors, it will provide for women and children, and 50 VIP rooms. It is anticipated that it will also cater for a theatre and other modern monitoring facilities.

According to the Israeli paper, “IMI was also involved in a multimillion dollar deal between Aeronautics, a Yavneh-based company, for building a fleet of scout vehicles for that country’s military. Neither Israel Shipyards nor Aeronautics, nor Ovadia herself, commented on the matter.The Channel 2 news program “Fact” ran a profile of Ovadia on Sunday but made no mention of the weapons deal allegations.”

“Nearly every business deal involving Israeli firms in recent years, whether civil or military, has gone through Ovadia, the security sources said. In the past, she has been connected to deals involving Brig. Gen. (Res.) Shlomo Ilia, now owner of a private business, and Boaz Badihi, an Israeli who operates from South Africa. These deals involved the sale of armored personnel vehicles, ammunition and military training for members of Obiang’s regime,” the paper added.

Ms. Ovadia said on the International Medical Services’ website that she is proud to represent the Equatorial Guinean people and government in her homeland Israel.

“Honoring our persistent and long-standing activity for the people of Equatorial Guinea, the government of Equatorial Guinea decided to appoint Ms. Yardena Ovadia, co-founder of IMS, as Honorary Consul of the republic in Israel.

Ms. Ovadia is proud to serve and represent the Equatorial Guinean people and government in her homeland Israel,” the International Medical Services website reported.

IMI was also reportedly linked to the regime, but Ilia told Haaretz he denied any connection to the alleged arms sales and said his business in Equatorial Guinea was civil rather than military. Badihi did not respond to the request of Haaretz for an interview.

Israel and Equatorial Guinea maintain diplomatic ties, though Jerusalem has refused to allow Obiang to visit. Ovadia has sought several times to persuade the Foreign Ministry to overturn this prohibition, to no avail. The ministry responded that “a visit by the president of Equatorial Guinea is not being considered.”

“Israel is doing him a major injustice,” Ovadia said. “There are good relations be und, J’lem race tight tween the two countries. The president loves Israel but Israel doesn’t return that love. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, met with him, as did [U.S. Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice. I hope Israel changes its treatment of him.”

U.S. law enforcement agencies revealed several years ago that Obiang had an account at the Washington, D.C.-based Riggs Bank containing some $700 million. The account was frozen on suspicion of Obiang’s having received bribes and been involved in corrupt activity surrounding his country’s oil trade.

Ms. Yardena Ovadia could not be reached for her own side of the story. The Gambia government also could not be reached for comment before going to press.

Below is the story published by the Haratez website. Please read on..

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Israeli businesswoman Yardena Ovadia is operating as a mediator in arms sales to the African nation of Equatorial Guinea for sums of up to $100 million, security sources told Haaretz in recent days.

One such deal involved sales by Israel Shipyards Ltd. and Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) to the country’s military, including four Shaldag patrol and escort boats and a Sa’ar missile boat. They are also reportedly building a dockyard in the country.

IMI was also involved in a multimillion dollar deal between Aeronautics, a Yavneh-based company, for building a fleet of scout vehicles for that country’s military. Neither Israel Shipyards nor Aeronautics, nor Ovadia herself, commented on the matter.

The Channel 2 news program “Fact” ran a profile of Ovadia on Sunday but made no mention of the weapons deal allegations.

Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony, is considered one of the most poorly-run states of western Africa. Ovadia, who grew up in the hardscrabble Negev city of Dimona, first visited the country several years ago and formed a friendship with President Teodoro Obiang, who has ruled the country since a bloody coup in 1979. Obiang is believed to have ordered the deaths of thousands of citizens during his tenure, and to head of one of the most corrupt regimes on the continent.

Nearly every business deal involving Israeli firms in recent years, whether civil or military, has gone through Ovadia, the security sources said. In the past, she has been connected to deals involving Brig. Gen. (Res.) Shlomo Ilia, now owner of a private business, and Boaz Badihi, an Israeli who operates from South Africa. These deals involved the sale of armored personnel vehicles, ammunition and military training for members of Obiang’s regime.

IMI was also reportedly linked to the regime, but Ilia told Haaretz he denied any connection to the alleged arms sales and said his business in Equatorial Guinea was civil rather than military. Badihi did not respond to the request of Haaretz for an interview.

Israel and Equatorial Guinea maintain diplomatic ties, though Jerusalem has refused to allow Obiang to visit. Ovadia has sought several times to persuade the Foreign Ministry to overturn this prohibition, to no avail. The ministry responded that “a visit by the president of Equatorial Guinea is not being considered.”

“Israel is doing him a major injustice,” Ovadia said. “There are good relations be und, J’lem race tight tween the two countries. The president loves Israel but Israel doesn’t return that love. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, met with him, as did [U.S. Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice. I hope Israel changes its treatment of him.”

U.S. law enforcement agencies revealed several years ago that Obiang had an account at the Washington, D.C.-based Riggs Bank containing some $700 million. The account was frozen on suspicion of Obiang’s having received bribes and been involved in corrupt activity surrounding his country’s oil trade.

Source: Haaretz website

Source: International Medical Services website