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.