Police, finding proof of wrongdoing, pass Tzachi Hanegbi bribery file to prosecutors

National Security Council chief suspected of accepting NIS 10,000 in 2017 to advance businessmen’s plans to build a Jerusalem airport

Police announced Tuesday that they had concluded their investigation into National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and decided to transfer the case to state prosecutors, who will decide whether to file an indictment.

Hanegbi, who could be charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, is suspected of having accepted an unreported payment — some NIS 10,000 ($2,700), according to earlier reports — in 2017 from Australian businessman Kevin Bermeister and entrepreneur Amnon Ribek, while serving as regional cooperation minister.

The alleged bribe came in exchange for Hanegbi writing an official letter on their behalf, helping their plans to build an airport in the Jerusalem area. According to Haaretz, the letter was to be presented to the government of Singapore.

The transfer of funds was allegedly arranged over WhatsApp. According to texts reported by Ynet, Burmeister asked Ribek if the money transfer had been rejected, and Ribek responded, “Tzachi got the money from me, I will get a letter from Hanegbi.”

The investigation — opened in March 2023, and handled by the Lahav 433 unit of the police — was conducted into Hanegbi and the two businessmen, as well as a foreign-national contractor who was to be involved in the airport’s construction, and another person whose identity has not been made public.

The national security adviser confirmed he was questioned over the affair, and confirmed meeting Bermeister at Ribek’s initiative, whom Hanegbi called a “personal friend” — but denied any wrongdoing.

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi arrives for a court hearing in the trial against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on March 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Last November, when the investigation was reported on by Hebrew media, a statement from Hanegbi said that the issue “was raised as part of a civil dispute between businessmen and was published two years ago.”

Hanegbi said he had “already denied these claims as soon as they were published and gave [my] version to the police as well.”

At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement: “This is an investigation that is not related to the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Security Council, and relates to the publication of an event from seven years ago.”

The Prime Minister’s Office houses the National Security Council, which Hanegbi heads. Watchdog groups previously called on Netanyahu to fire Hanegbi in light of the investigation, but the premier did not dismiss him.

Lazar Berman and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.