Sara Netanyahu said grilled over possible illicit employment of former aide

TV report says PM’s wife suspected of creating false impression she paid Nir Hefetz, after State Comptroller said he could not work for family free of charge

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife was questioned by police investigators regarding the legality of her employment of a former aide-turned-state witness, Hadashot TV news reported Friday.

According to the Haaretz daily, Sara Netanyahu is suspected of fraudulently creating the appearance she was paying Nir Hefetz for his services to the family, after the prime minister’s personal lawyer David Shimron was told by the State Comptroller they could not retain Hefetz’s services without paying him at a market rate.

The questions regarding Hefetz’s employment were borne of the investigation into the so-called Bezeq graft probe. The investigation, known as Case 4000, involves suspicions Netanyahu advanced regulation benefiting Shaul Elovitch, the telecommunication giant’s largest shareholder, in exchange for positive coverage from the Bezeq-owned Walla news site.

Government members are forbidden from receiving gifts or other favors unless they receive an exemption from the State Comptroller, which the newspaper reported Netanyahu was denied a number of times concerning his request to employ Hefetz without proper compensation.

Hadashot news said Hefetz, who is now a state’s witness in Case 4000, testified to police that he offered to work for the Netanyahus free of charge, as long as they could ensure his employment was legal. He said he was told by Shimron it was possible to give his salary to charity, though police believe such donations were never made.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former spokesman Nir Hefetz (foreground) and Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch attend a remand hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, February 26, 2018. (Flash90)

Sara Netanyahu denied the allegations, the report said, telling police payments were made to charity and that it was Hefetz who offered to work for free.

A spokesperson for the Netanyahu family dismissed the suspicions as “nonsense.”

“It can only be hoped that once the truth becomes clear, the media will report it and not bury it along with other fabricated stories,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the network.

“Not only is there no meat [to the allegations], there isn’t even a bone.”

Hefetz in March became a state witness in the investigation after he was arrested and questioned under caution by police over his involvement in the alleged affair.

He was the third former top adviser to Netanyahu to become a state’s witness in a series of corruption investigations involving the prime minister, which involve suspicions he advanced businessmen’s interests in exchange for gifts and favors.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (c) and Nir Hefetz (l) arrive at the weekly cabinet meeting held in the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, December 13, 2009. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

Shimron, the premier’s former personal attorney and also his cousin, is a suspect in another investigation into alleged wrongdoing in the purchase of Israeli naval vessels from a German shipbuilder that has ensnared a number of Netanyahu associates, though the prime minister himself is not a suspect.

The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing.

Last week, police said Sara Netanyahu is suspected of receiving bribes in Case 4000 and that that Shaul Elovitch and his wife, Iris, as well as Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu, were all aware of the financial implications of the alleged scheme.

A report in March from Channel 10 news said police are in possession of correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Iris Elovitch, including Whatsapp messages relating to the benefits extended to Bezeq and complaints from the prime minister’s wife over Walla’s coverage.

Hadashot news reported that Yair Netanyahu, one of the couple’s two sons, is also suspected of bribery in the case. The report said the two are suspected of coordinating coverage with Iris Elovitch and the CEO of Walla on behalf of the prime minister, and could thus potentially be charged with receiving bribes despite not being public officials.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and his wife Sara in Jerusalem, on May 16, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In August, police interrogated Netanyahu in connection with Case 4000, marking the 11th time he has faced police in the various corruption probes. Sara Netanyahu was last questioned in the case in March.

Police are reportedly leaning toward recommending the prime minister be charged with bribery in the case.

In addition to her legal woes in Case 4000, Sara Netanyahu was charged in June for alleged misuse of some $100,000 in state funds. She is set to be tried on the charges next month. She has denied wrongdoing.