December 16, 2004

In an exclusive communication to MensNewsDaily.com, Marc Rich Holding have rejected allegations made by ABC News that Marc Rich acted as a 'middle man' in the UN’s Iraq Oil-For-Food scandal.

The statement was received as an eamil and attached as a press release from Marc Rich Holding:

"The Marc Rich Group feels compelled to make the following statement to rectify false reports regarding the UN’s Oil-For-Food program for Iraq.

Recent publications in the press have alleged that Marc Rich or one of his companies were illegally involved as a “middle man” in transactions regarding the Iraqi Oil-For-Food program.

These rumours originated from a report broadcast by the US TV channel ABC on December 1, 2004.

Marc Rich Holding has been in contact with ABC to learn about the evidence behind the allegations, and has so far not been presented any documents proving any illegal involvement in the Oil-For-Food program.

Marc Rich Holding rejects all the allegations regarding its involvement in the UN’s Oil-For-Food program for Iraq."

According to the ABC News report cited in the press release, ABC news claimed to have obtained "oil industry shipping records" that implicated Mr. Rich in the Oil-For-Food scandal.

However, since the initial allegations on December 1, 2004, a search of the ABC News website shows that the news organization has quietly dropped the subject and has produced no evidence to verify their claims.

An additional search of the ABC news website does show a variety of articles concerning Marc Rich, using such titles as "What's Become of Past Corporate Rogues," "The Secret Life of a Billionaire", and "Marc Rich Pardon to be Probed."

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Since publishing the Marc Rich Holding press release on Wednesday, MensNewsDaily.com has been approached by mainstream media news outlets for additional information. One reporter seemed genuinely perplexed that Marc Rich Holding would use MND over more traditional news media - or even the Drudge Report: "Any idea why a spokesman for Marc Rich would contact you, considering that your website is fairly new and not as well-known as others?"

While MND does not purport to know the ultimate truth behind the current allegations, it is clear from the evidence that Marc Rich is a 'polite-society pariah', and that the mainstream media (including the DrudgeReport) has a long and colorful history of Rich-bashing. It's hardly surprising that the Marc Rich Group would chose an alternative media source to provide a disinterested platform for the release of their statement.

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