Word: oman
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...tells it, Blay-Miezah passed himself off as the sole beneficiary of a trust set up by deposed Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, who died in Rumania in 1972. Gullible investors were told that the Oman Ghana Trust Fund, to be used for economic development in Ghana, had shadowy origins and was funded with billions of dollars in banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein; the story was backed up with an account number and a vaguely worded letter from the Union Bank of Switzerland...
...trust, and according to investigators, an elderly widow invested $70,000, which amounted to her life savings. Most investors did, however, realize that they were getting into a rather risky venture. "Don't feel sorry for these people," says Richard Butera, a businessman who first dropped money in the Oman Ghana Trust Fund in 1972. "They knew what they were doing...
...enhance its security on the ground, the kingdom has fashioned a force called Peninsular Shield with its five partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Together with Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia has assembled a 5,000-man force stationed in King Khalid Military City near the border with Kuwait. Built in typically opulent Saudi style, the complex can hold 70,000 troops. But its ability to withstand attack is questionable at best. Says one military analyst: "If the Iranians were not distracted by Iraq, the odds would be heavily in Iran's favor...
Elsewhere in the gulf, other thinly populated oil producers are suffering assorted woes. Kuwait, which survived a stock-market crash in 1982, faces a $1 billion budget deficit this year. Yet the idea of cutting the country's generous welfare-state outlays remains wildly unpopular. In Oman, declining oil prices will hold the economy's growth well below the whopping 14% gain achieved last year and will force the government to curtail projects in its five-year plan. Omanis are already borrowing abroad and using foreign currency reserves to finance budget shortfalls. The United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven...
...between the Marxist factions, which has both ideological and tribal overtones, is equally murky. Former President Ismail is a Moscow-line ideologue who caused endless mischief for his more conservative Arab neighbors. He was succeeded in 1980 by Muhammad, a pragmatist who sought closer ties with neighboring North Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia...