Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez offered between $100 and $150 million to acquire interest in Israel-based satellite observation company ImageSat International, according to a civil suit filed in New York federal court. The suit is filed by ImageSat shareholders that claim the transaction was sabotaged by Israeli and U.S. government sources for purely political reasons, claiming fraudulent activity in detriment to sound business opportunities.
Former executives of ImageSat, and now lead plaintiffs, assert that they had developed a commercial model that would allow each country to operate the satellite as a ”Satellite Operating Partner” or SOP, each time that it went over the country. The Venezuela deal would have been worth more than $18 million each year.
The Miami Herald has more detailed coverage of the trial in this feature.
