Minister questioned for second time in Likud vote racket probe

Haim Katz suspected of coercing electoral support from Israel Aerospace Industries employees, as well as making shady deal with a contractor

Welfare Minister Haim Katz was questioned under caution for a second time on Thursday as part of a police investigation into two separate cases of alleged corruption at Israel Aerospace Industries, where he served as head of the workers’ union for over two decades before becoming a government minister two years ago.

Katz was questioned a week ago for over six hours.

The minister is suspected of “ethical violations” involving a scheme to coerce employees into joining his Likud party and vote for him and his preferred candidates in the party primaries.

Further details of the probe are under gag order, police said.

The second case concerns extensive renovations done at the home of Katz’s son Yair, the Ynet news site reported. According to testimony, a contractor who won a tender to do work at IAI also carried out the home renovations for the younger Katz. Police suspect that the contractor did the work at a discount rate in exchange for being awarded the IAI work.

Ynet reported that the welfare minister will present receipts for the renovations to prove that he paid for all the work.

Sources close to the minister told Ynet that he will also say that his activities as head of the IAI workers’ union were a legitimate attempt to gain power and wield political influence to protect the workers.

Suspicions of corruption, fraud and breach of trust at IAI became public in March when police raided the defense contractor, arresting 14 people including Yair Katz.

The younger Katz, 36, who serves in the senior management of IAI and has been a member of its powerful workers’ union for four years, was arrested on suspicion of forcing employees into joining Likud.

He was arrested along with fellow union member David Peretz. The two were held after their homes were raided and searched.

The labor union at IAI, which employs some 16,000 people and is Israel’s largest state-owned company, is seen as closely tied to Katz senior.

Responding to the attorney general’s decision three months ago to allow police to question him, the minister said that he and others at IAI were the targets of an “unjustified smear campaign.”

“I will cooperate fully with the investigation and I am sure that everything will return calmly to the way it was before,” he said in a statement.

Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.