Olmert to testify against Ehud Barak in bribe allegation
Convicted ex-PM was heard in taped conversation claiming his predecessor took kickbacks on military deals
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Police said Sunday that they would call in disgraced former prime minister Ehud Olmert to give testimony regarding allegations he had made, to the effect that his predecessor Ehud Barak had received millions of shekels in bribes from lucrative government military deals while serving as defense minister.
Investigators intend to schedule a date for the testimony in the coming days.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein instructed police to open an investigation into the allegation against Barak, which surfaced in an audio recording broadcast on Israeli television.
According to a report from Channel 10, police sources said they don’t expect Olmert’s information to lead to a criminal investigation and that the interview was merely required as a follow-up to Weinstein’s orders.
Olmert, who is currently on trial in the latest of a series of corruption cases, made the claim in a July 2011 conversation with his top aide, Shula Zaken, who has since turned state’s witness against him. Zaken secretly recorded numerous conversations with Olmert, and they have been leaking out in recent days — some of them heard in court, and others broadcast on television.
Barak immediately issued a firm denial of the accusation.
In the conversation, recorded when Barak was still serving as Israel’s defense minister three years ago, Olmert could be heard calling Barak “a lunatic,” and saying Barak was “jealous” of the plush Audi car Olmert used to have, and then making the bribery allegation.
Barak “will wind up in jail,” Olmert told Zaken in the recording broadcast by Channel 10 news. “You mark my words, Shula.”
Barak, Olmert continued, “took millions, tens of millions of dollars in bribes. There was no arms deal done by Israel [that was not affected]. Everybody is talking about it.” Olmert then implied that an unnamed Mossad chief had confirmed that fact to him.
“Where’s the money?” Zaken asked.
“He hides it,” said Olmert, “in Switzerland or somewhere.” The funds were transferred by Barak’s lawyers to companies abroad “where Barak’s name isn’t mentioned.”
Olmert added that Barak’s main accomplice was his brother-in-law, attorney Doron Cohen, who arranged the deals and handled the money, secretly transferring the funds.
Barak, who also served as defense minister during part of Olmert’s 2006-2009 term as prime minister, was a key figure in pushing Olmert to resign the premiership as corruption allegations swirled around him.
Barak, who has since retired from politics, issued a statement after the television report denying the allegations, calling them “unfounded” and “unworthy of a response.”
The recording surfaced a day after a defense attorney for Olmert accused Zaken of having long planned to blackmail her boss, using recordings of a meeting between Zaken and her psychic to buttress the claim.
And that slice of courtroom drama came two days after the court heard recordings of Olmert trying to convince Zaken not to testify against him in the ongoing corruption cases.
Prosecutors are trying to use the recordings, supplied by Zaken as part of a plea bargain, to prove that Olmert took funds for illegal use and was guilty of witness tampering.
Zaken is serving out an 11-month sentence handed down to her in May.
Olmert resigned as prime minister in September 2008 after police investigators recommended that he be indicted.
In May, Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison, a two-year suspended term, and a fine of NIS 1 million ($289,000) for accepting bribes in a separate graft case known as the “Holyland affair,” revolving around a large Jerusalem residential development. He was ordered to report to prison on September 1, but the entry date was suspended pending his appeal.
The Times of Israel Community.