State prosecution to recommend wider probe into PM spending

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein will convene a meeting Thursday with senior officials from the state prosecution to consider allegations of financial improprieties by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, as detailed in a State Comptroller report published last week and in testimony by an ex-custodian who worked with the couple at the Prime Minister’s Residence.

The spending report released by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira last Tuesday detailed lavish spending by Netanyahu and his wife at his official residence in Jerusalem as well as at their private home in Caesarea and alleged possible criminal misdeeds by the two.

State prosecutors were expected to recommend that Weinstein widen the probe into the allegations and summon employees at the official residence for interrogation.

Police have said that the Netanyahus may also be called in for questioning.

The attorney general has been considering whether to order a police investigation into the allegations. The timing of any such decision could be politically significant, given that Israel holds general elections on March 17.

The Netanyahus’ ex-caretaker, Menny Naftali, is expected at the Lahav 433 fraud investigation unit on Thursday to complete his testimony. Last week, Naftali testified for a marathon 11 hours with the Israel Police against Netanyahu after receiving limited immunity from prosecution. He reportedly provided documents and recordings detailing alleged financial abuse by the couple.

Earlier this week, the ex-custodian said he was receiving death threats and demanded a security detail following his testimony. He also filed a defamation lawsuit against the Likud and several close associates of Netanyahu for “smearing his name” following the publication of the state comptroller’s report.

The Likud publicly blamed Naftali for much of the excessive spending at the Prime Minister’s Residence and at the Netanyahus’ home in Caesaria that was detailed in the comptroller’s report. Infuriated, Naftali, who was already involved in legal proceedings against the Netanyahus, returned to the police and offered further testimony.

On the basis of the State Comptroller’s report, the Netanyahus could face criminal charges over the accusation that Sara Netanyahu pocketed some NIS 4,000 ($1,035) of bottle refunds for recycling. Accusations that she purchased a set of patio furniture identical to the patio furniture at the official residence, which was subsequently delivered to the Netanyahu’s private residence, could also get them into trouble.

A third alleged scandal, over a scheme to overpay electrician Avi Pachima — an apparent Likud apparatchik — by inviting him to do work on weekends and holidays and a subsequent cover-up, may also result in criminal charges.

The allegations against the prime minister amount to suspicions of “low level” criminality, a Channel 2 TV report said Friday, and a formal police investigation of the Netanyahus “appears inescapable… if only to clear away the cloud of suspicion.”

“The police are preparing to take testimony,” Channel 2 reported, “and it is not inconceivable that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mrs. Netanyahu will be asked to give testimony.”

David Shimron, the Netanyahu family lawyer, said Friday that Naftali was not a credible witness, and added that the State Comptroller’s “minor” report did not contain allegations of criminal behavior. Shimron said the entire scandal was the work of “a very large campaign… by very large forces… designed to bring down” the prime minister. “Why was it so urgent” for the state comptroller to submit his report days before the elections?” Shimron asked in a Channel 2 interview, blaming “the media” and other powerful forces for the campaign against Netanyahu over alleged spending abuses.

On Thursday, Netanyahu hired top criminal lawyer Jacob Weinroth to defend him in any potential criminal investigation that could emerge from Naftali’s allegations, and from allegations of abuse of funds at the Prime Minister’s Residence detailed in the state comptroller’s report.

The spending allegations initially did not seem likely to harm Netanyahu’s chances of winning reelection on March 17, with polls showing that the affair had little impact on voters’ intentions. But the opening of a criminal investigation into Netanyahu’s spending could prove more significant.

The Channel 2 report added that the attorney general’s office was examining details beyond what was written in the State Comptroller report, published on Tuesday, on excessive spending by the prime minister and his wife. According to suspicions cited in the TV report, the Netanyahus systematically used state funds to finance private expenses.

Channel 2 and other Hebrew media reports suggested that the granting of immunity to Naftali indicated that the affair was taking on greater significance. Haaretz quoted unnamed Likud sources saying they were “preparing for the possibility” that Netanyahu would be investigated.

Naftali served as caretaker of the Prime Minister’s Residence for nearly two years. He resigned after he wasn’t given the tenure that, he claimed, was promised him.

He has filed suit against the Prime Minister’s Office; the deputy director general of operations at the office, Ezra Saidoff; the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu; and Netanyahu himself.

Naftali seeks NIS 1.1 million ($286,000) in damages. He also separately sued Netanyahu for libel following an interview where Netanyahu said Naftali had been fired, even though he claims to have resigned.

Naftali recently asked the Jerusalem Labor Court to summon Sara Netanyahu to testify, and she is set to appear at the court after the March 17 elections.