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____________________
Political Clarification
Bloomberg Inaccurate in Clinton-Giustra Story
VANCOUVER - In response to inquiries, Frank Giustra, President and CEO of Fiore Financial, said that a recent Bloomberg Newswire story (February 19, 2008), inaccurately depicts his relationship with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the nature of his philanthropic efforts on behalf of the Foundation.
Specifically, Giustra said the Bloomberg story appears to be nothing more
than an attempt to play catch-up with previous incorrect stories on the same
themes in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal as the United
States conducts its primary elections for the Presidency.
"The underlying question in these stories is whether, or not, I used my
ongoing and considerable charitable relationship with former President Bill
Clinton, or his Foundation, to benefit my business or myself? Without any
hesitation, the answer is an emphatic, no," said Giustra.
"Whatever success I've had in business over the past 25 years was earned
long before I met President Clinton three years ago. To imply that President
Clinton had the heads of state of foreign nations bending over backwards to
advance my business or personal interests is ridiculous. There is ample public
information which clearly demonstrates that I've been doing successful
international business deals well in advance of any philanthropic work I am
doing now with President Clinton or his Foundation, and well before I had any
personal acquaintance with the former President."
The Bloomberg story, like those in both The New York Times and The Wall
Street Journal, contains errors of fact, uses innuendo, and omits key facts,
either intentionally or through a lack of due diligence, to construct an
article designed to suggest improprieties in the relationship where none
exist.
In an attempt to support its storyline, Bloomberg tries to shore up its
article with quotable opinions from numerous parties who have no direct
knowledge of the relationship, or the events as Bloomberg chooses to depict
them.
Among the Bloomberg errors:
Bloomberg: Giustra was negotiating with the Kazakhstan government to buy
controlling stakes in three uranium mines.
Fact: The negotiations were with private companies, not the government.
Bloomberg: President Clinton arranged for Giustra to meet the President
of Colombia in New York in September, 2005.
Fact: The President made no such introduction, and the meeting never
happened.
Bloomberg: The value of Giustra's UrAsia stock has dropped by half.
Fact: The stock value has dropped by two-thirds. Nonetheless, Giustra's
$100 million pledge to the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative
remains unchanged, proving that the two were never linked.
Bloomberg: In November, 2005, Giustra flew back to Kazakhstan for another
meeting with the President of Kazakhstan to get the uranium deal back on
track.
Fact: There was no such meeting.
Bloomberg: Giustra stipulated that funds donated by him or Canadian
mining companies to the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, which
is aimed at fighting poverty and building sustainable economies in developing
countries, be deployed where he does most of his business.
Fact: The work of the initiative is, in fact, global, with a particular
focus on helping local economies where mining takes place. In other words, the
world's mining sector is giving something back that can be sustained long
after mining is finished. There is no "stipulation" that funds be spent only
in countries where Giustra has business interests. In fact, of the several
programs being introduced on March 1, only one will be in a country where
Guistra is doing business.
"It's unfortunate that Bloomberg chose to rely on flawed information,
much of it from previous stories in other publications," added Giustra. "I
chose not to be interviewed by Bloomberg after it called for comment because,
given our understanding of the story Bloomberg was constructing, we did not
want to add any comments that might imply by our participation that their
story was accurate or fair."
Giustra added that he finds it disheartening that all of the great global
initiatives that attracted him to partnering with President Clinton in the
first place are getting lost in the noise of the US presidential election
campaign.
"I have no interest in politics, but I do have a real interest in getting
the world's mining industry to step up and help alleviate poverty, and perhaps
even be a model for other industry sectors when it comes to promoting
sustainable forms of economic development," noted Giustra.
"It probably sounds a little Pollyannaish in a very cynical world, but
I've seen firsthand what can be done when someone of President Clinton's
stature lends their voice and weight to issues such as AIDS, poverty,
illiteracy and sustainable economic development. The results are incredible,
and I have every intention of being a part of it, now and for the rest of my
life."
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