Mimran walks back details on Netanyahu contributions

Arnaud Mimran, the alleged French fraudster who said he had given Netanyahu a campaign contribution, is now dovetailing with the prime minister’s version of the events.

“Everything that Bibi says is true,” he tells Channel 2. “It’s possible that I got the numbers wrong because it’s been more than 10 years.”

Initial reports said Mimran had testified to giving Netanyahu a million euros in 2009, when Netanyahu was running for prime minister. Netanyahu denied that account, asserting that the contribution was made in 2001, amounted to a much smaller sum, and funded public diplomacy efforts rather than a campaign.

“It was a long time ago, so it’s possible I made a mistake with the sum,” he tells Channel 2. “In any event, there was nothing illegal on Bibi’s part. I transferred a sum to him and invited him to vacations in Monaco and a ski resort in the French Alps.”

He says that, all told, it adds up to 150,000 euros, or a million French francs.