Police question 2 associates of minister in submarine case

A former adviser to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz was arrested and questioned by police Sunday, and a close acquaintance of his was interrogated under caution, in connection with suspected corruption in a billion-dollar-deal to purchase naval vessels from a German shipbuilder.

The former adviser to Steinitz, who according to Hebrew media reports holds a senior position in the private sector, was questioned at the Lod headquarters of the Lahav 433 serious crime unit, as was the the businessman, said to be very close to Steinitz.

The men were not identified.

Several other former aides to Steinitz have been named as suspects in the case, though the minister himself has not been implicated.

Last Wednesday a court remanded David Sharan, who was chief of staff to Steinitz and then to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in custody for up to six days, saying that the suspicious against him have been “bolstered” in the affair, known as “Case 3000.”

A number of other figures have recently been arrested in connection with the case in addition to Sharan, including senior aide to Steinitz Rami Taib, former minister Eliezer Sandberg and Shay Brosh, a former head of the Israel Navy’s commando unit.

The list of high-level officials arrested or questioned in the probe has been rapidly expanding in light of testimony given by Miki Ganor, who was the local representative of German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp, the company that manufactured the naval vessels bought by Israel. After being identified as a key suspect in the case, Ganor turned state’s witness in July.

Investigators suspect that Ganor, along with former National Security Council deputy head Avriel Bar-Yosef, paid bribes to influence a decision to buy three submarines from ThyssenKrupp, despite opposition from the Defense Ministry.

They also reportedly influenced decisions to buy naval corvettes to protect Israel’s offshore gas fields and awarded ThyssenKrupp a contract to service other naval vessels.

While Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing in connection with the investigation, and the attorney general has announced he isn’t a suspect, a number of former aides and associates of his have been caught up in the unfolding case.

In addition to Sharan, the former bureau chief to Netanyahu, police have also named David Shimron, the prime minister’s lawyer and cousin; and Bar-Yosef, who had served on Netanyahu’s NSC, as suspects.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.