Police reportedly installed cameras at home of key witness in submarine affair
In an unusual move, officers placed surveillance devices inside Avriel Bar Yosef’s house while he was behind bars, report says
Police reportedly installed cameras inside the home of a key suspect in the so-called “submarine affair,” a massive corruption scandal with links to former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Monday report.
The cameras were placed in the home of former deputy National Security Council chairman Avriel Bar Yosef, Channel 12 reported, without citing sources.
Bar Yosef was indicted last year over his involvement in the murky $2 billion deal to purchase submarines from the German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp.
State prosecutors accuse Bar Yosef, who had been Netanyahu’s choice to become the next National Security Council chief, of accepting a bribe from Thyssenkrupp’s representative in Israel, Miki Ganor.
The cameras were installed in Bar Yosef’s home while he was behind bars. Police summoned his wife for questioning so that investigators would be able to access their unoccupied home, Channel 12 said. Police ultimately did not press charges against Bar Yosef’s wife.
The network said the revelation appeared to be one of the first times police had installed cameras inside the home of a suspect in this type of case, explaining that police had in the past only placed cameras in the courtyards of homes belonging to mafia members.
The move was approved by Tel Aviv District Court Judge Avraham Tal after police said the cameras were necessary for identifying additional suspects and documenting criminal offenses in the affair.
“It is important to document the crime visually,” police wrote to Tal, arguing that microphones would be insufficient, according to Channel 12.
Bar Yosef’s attorney Jack Chen blasted the police for their “shocking” conduct, saying it violated his client’s right to privacy.
“The law enforcement system should urgently be required” to probe the matter, he said.
The submarine affair dates back to 2012 and has become known as Case 3000. The deal has already led to a number of other indictments against several close confidants of Netanyahu, though the ex-premier has not been named as a suspect.
However, Netanyahu is expected to be called as a chief witness in the probe, which will likely make him the first Israeli former prime minister ever called to give testimony before a government-backed commission of inquiry.
David Shimron, Netanyahu’s personal lawyer and cousin, has been charged with money laundering in connection with the deal and Ganor has also been charged with bribery.
