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Convicted felon George Soros “was forced to restructure the [Russia Soros] foundation and to replace its leaders last year [1996] after discovering that employees were diverting foundation funds into Swiss bank accounts and using them to buy luxury cars.…He began his philanthropy in Russia in 1987, before the collapse of the Soviet Union.”
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[[Image: Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin with George Soros in the Kremlin in 1993, Reuters]
Oct. 20, 1997, “Soros to Donate Millions More to Help Russia,” The New York Times, Judith Miller, print ed., Section A, Page 1
“George Soros, the Hungarian-born American financier and philanthropist ,said yesterday that he would donate as much as $500 million in the next three years in Russia trying to improve health care, expand educational opportunities and help retrain the military for civilian jobs.
In a telephone interview from Moscow, Mr. Soros said he would announce the initiative in eight fields today. This latest gift would make him the leading philanthropist in Russia, as well as a donor whose presence exceeds that of the United States, which gave Russia $95 million in foreign aid last year….
[Image: Russian President Boris Yeltsin and American financier George Soros, 1992, Moscow, Russia. President of Russia Boris Yeltsin (L) meets with American financier George Soros (R). Alexander Sentsov/TASS]
Mr. Soros said that he had spent the last two weeks touring Russia and that the new program reflected the needs he identified during his trip as well as an evaluation of what his foundation has already accomplished. He said that while his tour was ”rather strenuous and in some ways frustrating,” he believed that the Russian Government led by President Boris N. Yeltsin both needs and deserves Western confidence and assistance.
”I think this Government will be there for at least three years,” Mr. Soros said, brushing aside reports that the Government could face a no-confidence vote in the Russian Parliament as early as Wednesday….
Mr. Soros said that the details of the new programs for Russia were still being worked out, but that all of the money, which will total a minimum of $300 million and as much as $500 million in the next three years, would be channeled through his Open Society Institute–Russia. He was forced to restructure the foundation and to replace its leaders last year [1996] after discovering that employees were diverting foundation funds into Swiss bank accounts and using them to buy luxury cars.
”The foundation is now operating very efficiently,” Mr. Soros said….
In addition to his philanthropy, his Soros Fund Management, the principal investment adviser to the Quantum Group of Funds, based in Curacao, has invested more than $2.5 billion in Russian business, making him the leading Western investor in that country. Mr. Soros said yesterday that he intended to continue investing in Russia as a sign of confidence in the country’s leadership, despite controversy among rival investors stemming from his decision to mix philanthropy and investment there….
While acknowledging that rampant corruption and mismanagement have created a ”precarious situation” for the Government, he said he doubted that it would collapse any time soon….
He came to know Russian culture and greatly respected its literary traditions and the determination of its people to survive all kinds of oppression. He began his philanthropy in Russia in 1987, before the collapse of the Soviet Union….
Mr. Soros’s international investments have come under fire, particularly from Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He has repeatedly accused Mr. Soros of mounting politically motivated attacks on his region’s currencies, which Mr. Soros has denied….
In the United States, Mr. Soros has been harshly criticized for programs that challenge the nation’s antidrug laws and other controversial government programs.”…
“A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 20, 1997, Section A, Page 1 of the National edition.”
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