Mahathir `glad' Soros is convicted of insider trading

Mahathir `glad' Soros is convicted of insider trading

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has expressed
satisfaction that a Paris court found billionaire financier and
philanthropist George Soros guilty of insider trading, news
reports said Sunday.

"I am glad to hear that," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the
national news agency Bernama. "It shows that he is not very
ethical."

Mahathir has blamed Soros' currency speculation for plunging
Asia into the 1997-98 regional economic crisis. Both men have
exchanged verbal criticisms at several international conferences.

The Malaysian leader said that Soros' conviction proved he was
a "menace" to the global financial system.

"When he (Soros) said that I was a menace to my own country,
actually he is the menace to the world's economy," Mahathir said.

The 72-year-old Soros was convicted Friday of having profited
from inside information about a failed 1988 takeover of the
French bank Societe Generale by corporate raider George Pebereau.
He was ordered to pay a fine of 2.2 million euros (US$2.26
million).

In his defence, Soros had said that the takeover plan was
commonly known and that he had not exploited any inside
information.

Soros moved to the United States in 1956, after the brutal
Communist suppression of a democratic uprising in Hungary. He
amassed a fortune through an international investment fund he
founded.

He is well known for his many philanthropic activities, which
include providing funds to black students in apartheid South
Africa. He is also the founder of a network of philanthropic
organizations active in more than 50 countries.