Another ex-aide to testify against Netanyahu in graft case

Another former aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to turn in evidence against him and his wife in a high-profile corruption case that is likely to end Netanyahu’s political career.

Nir Hefetz, a former senior communications aide to Netanyahu, was released from custody on Sunday after he signed a deal under which he agreed to testify against Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, in return for full immunity from prosecution, jail time, and payment of fine, Israeli police announced on Monday.

Hefetz reportedly agreed to testify against Netanyahu after police persuaded him that the prime minister had no chance of getting acquitted in the case.

According to the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post, Hefetz also made the decision after police leaked Sara’s remarks against him during her interrogation on Friday. The former official was also further angered after he realized that Netanyahu had postponed his own questioning despite knowing that the delay would mean Hefetz would stay in prison for a much longer period.

Hefetz is a suspect in two legal cases against Netanyahu, including the so-called Case 4000, which involves bribery to Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq, and the “Attorney-General Job Affair,” in which judge Hila Gerstl is said to have been offered the job of attorney-general in exchange for closing criminal cases against Sara Netanyahu.

Reports say Hefetz’s bargain with the police will lead to the closure of the Attorney-General Job Affair, but it was not clear in which of the cases Hefetz would be turning in evidence.

Hefetz is not the first former official to agree to testify against his ex-boss. Under a plea deal, Netanyahu’s former campaign manager and director-general of the communications ministry Shlomo Filber previously accused Netanyahu of directing a complex media bribery scheme.

Police investigators questioned Netanyahu and Sara for the first time on Friday as part of the investigation into Case 4000.

Read more:

• Israeli police question Netanyahu, wife in telecommunications graft case

Israeli police say that Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch had instructed the Walla news website, which is fully owned by the telecom company, to provide favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his wife in return for favors from communications regulators. The company has denied wrongdoing.

A criminal trail

The Netanyahus are expected to be interrogated again shortly after returning from the United States.

Investigators have also been grilling Netanyahu for corruption over his involvement in cases 1000, 2000, and 3000.

Case 1000 revolves around alleged illicit gifts given to Netanyahu and his family by different businessmen, most notably the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

The prime minister and his wife have denied wrongdoing in the case, claiming that the value of the items was significantly lower than reported, and that they were only “trifles” exchanged between close friends.

Case 2000 focuses on an alleged clandestine deal made between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher and owner Arnon “Noni” Mozes, in which the 68-year-old chairman of the Likud party promised Mozes he would support a bill to reduce the circulation of Yedioth’s main commercial rival, the Hebrew-language freebie Israel Hayom, in exchange for favorable coverage of himself in Yedioth.

Reports emerged recently that the president of the World Jewish Congress and Netanyahu’s long-time ally, Ronald Lauder, had given the premier and his son gifts, including expensive suits. The accounts prompted Israeli police to interrogate the prime minister.

Netanyahu is also under probe over suspicions that he accepted one million euros (about 1.1 million dollars) from accused French fraudster Arnaud Mimran for campaign funds during elections in 2009.

There are also calls for Netanyahu to be investigated for his role in Case 3000, otherwise known as the “Submarine Affair.” The case involves a billion-dollar deal to purchase three submarines from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Netanyahu’s personal lawyer and one of his closest confidants, David Shimron, reportedly represented the German company behind the submarine contract.

The Israeli prime minister, in an apparently unrelated case, is also subjected to accusations that he and his spouse misappropriated public funds to pay for private expenses, ranging from laundry to ice cream.

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