Word: hazelnut
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...officials urged the group to make a stop in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi first and meet with Shevardnadze, which they did. The meeting "was absolutely great," said Tony. "He promised to help us." Then the group spent eight days in Batumi meeting with Abashidze, as well as with hazelnut farmers, the Orthodox bishop and others who feted them for the huge investment they were expected to bring...
...seal of approval from the U.S. government in upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. In fact, just after the Rodhams left, according to Georgian news reports, Abashidze trumpeted "the possibility of political support rendered to him by U.S. President Bill Clinton" and said the U.S. branch of the hazelnut investment firm would be located "next to the White House." The Rodhams' trip culminated with Tony's flying to Rome to become godfather to Abashidze's new grandson...
National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, who feared the Rodhams were being manipulated by Shevardnadze's foe, told the brothers in September that they should dump the hazelnut deal. The Rodhams resisted. The White House tried again, and according to officials, this time the brothers backed down. But in a recent interview, Tony would say only that he's "restructuring" the venture and complains that he and Hugh are victims of a pro-Shevardnadze disinformation campaign. Tony wouldn't say whether he had money invested in the venture or was acting on behalf of others; Hugh said he has no money...
...hazelnut imbroglio wasn't Tony's first dip into murky foreign political waters. In 1997, sources tell TIME, Tony--working as a consultant for a company trying to do business in Russia--arranged a White House meeting for Moscow's powerful Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Rodham was working for Gene Prescott, who was involved in IBN, a start-up that wanted to bring "smart" credit-debit cards to Russia and was hoping for the support of Luzhkov. Prescott knew Luzhkov wanted to meet with Clinton and asked Tony if he could set it up, according to Tony. Former White House officials...
...Tony Rodham's business dealings might benefit from some scrutiny, the same might be said about some of his business associates--like a Georgian wheeler-dealer named Vasili Patarkalishvili. He was the one who thought up the smart-card and hazelnut ventures. Patarkalishvili has had other brushes with controversy. In the early 1990s he opened Liberty Bank, ostensibly to operate in Georgia and the U.S. But in 1994 the Comptroller of the Currency issued a warning that the bank was not authorized to operate on American soil. The bank shut down in the U.S. Now Patarkalishvili and several partners...