Security company files complaint against guard who recorded Netanyahu’s son

The security company that provided the bodyguard who recorded Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s son making controversial comments during a tour of Tel Aviv strip joints with two friends has filed a complaint with police against the guard on suspicion of bugging offenses.

In the recording, published last week by Hadashot television news, Yair Netanyahu was heard making disparaging remarks about women and politically sensitive comments regarding his father’s involvement in a natural gas deal that he said in jest benefited the tycoon father of one of his companions.

A representative of the Modiin Ezrachi security company, which filed the complaint Sunday, said it is possible the recording was made using a device planted in the car that Yair Netanyahu was traveling in at the time, and therefore could be considered bugging, the Hebrew media Ynet website reported.

Along with Netanyahu’s two companions, the car was also carrying a driver and the security guard who made the recordings.

Police confirmed that a complaint was filed and that they were reviewing the case.

The security guard’s attorney was notified of the development.

According to the Hebrew-media Walla website, police are unlikely to open an investigation as both the driver of the vehicle and the security guard who captured the comments took part in the conversation, entitling them to secretly make a recording under Israeli law.

Current law requires that at least one party to a conversation be aware of, and give permission for, a recording. Any recording without knowledge of any of the parties is considered illegal wiretapping under Israeli law and is punishable by a maximum of five years in jail.

The security guard, who has not been identified in media reports, was also not bound to maintain confidentiality — unlike agents of the Shin Bet general security service — because he was hired by a civilian company, the report said.

In a separate development Monday, Yair Netanyahu failed to show up to a court sitting in a lawsuit he initiated in September over a Facebook post that claimed the prime minister asked the Mossad to issue his son a passport in a different name, which he then used to hide money offshore. He sued Abie Binyamin for NIS 140,000 ($40,000) in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court for the claims Binyamin made in a post on August 17, 2016.

Netanyahu received an exemption from attending the discussion last week, due to his scheduled flight to India alongside his parents in an official visit. However, after it was announced at the last moment that he would not be joining the trip, the younger Netanyahu was expected to attend. His lawyer said Netanyahu “is not feeling well,” while Abie Binyamin said he was “shocked” by his failure to show up.

Hadashot news said of the recording it aired last week that the conversations took place in an armored car provided by the Prime Minister’s Office and driven by a similarly state-funded driver. The guard was also with the group throughout the night. Earlier this month, Yoram Cohen, a former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, revealed that he had recommended against providing publicly funded permanent guards for the prime minister’s two sons, but that his recommendation was overruled.

Modiin Ezrachi, which faced criticism over the recording, provides security services for both of Netanyahu’s sons, Yair and Avner, as well as government ministers.

Hadashot news reportedly paid NIS 50,000 ($15,000) for the tape, which was rejected by a number of other news organizations.

The airing of the tape sent shock waves through Israel’s political system, with opposition members saying they suggest corruption on the part of the prime minister, and Netanyahu’s office deriding their publication as part of a witch hunt.

The recording, apparently made two and a half years ago, captured conversations between then-25-year-old Yair Netanyahu; Nir Maimon, the son of gas magnate Koby Maimon; and Roman Abramov, a friend of the younger Netanyahu, who has been in the news recently in connection with police investigations into Prime Minister Netanyahu’s relationship with Australian gambling tycoon James Packer.

Yair Netanyahu and Nir Maimon can be heard joking about the prime minister’s ties to the elder Maimon and his ostensible immense profit from a multi-billion-dollar gas deal between private companies and the state.

“Bro, you have to spot me. My dad made an awesome deal for your dad, bro. He fought, fought in the Knesset for this, bro,” Yair Netanyahu says.

“You owe us, you owe us NIS 25,000 ($7,255),” Abramov interjects.

Yair Netanyahu continues: “Bro, my dad now arranged a $20 billion show for you and you can’t spot me NIS 400 ($116)?”

Like the prime minister, Yair Netanyahu has specifically denied the implication that the gas deal had been negotiated with the intention to benefit Koby Maimon.

The younger Netanyahu has called the report on the tape “biased and shameful,” and claimed the recording was illegally obtained. He also apologized for the behavior captured in the recordings.

In one of the investigations against the prime minister, known as Case 1000, police are probing expensive gifts given to the Netanyahu family by Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, and actions they suspect he took on their behalf. The Netanyahus have denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Departing the country Saturday night for a week-long visit to India, the prime minister slammed Israeli media for its “sanctimonious” coverage of the recent scandal.

Asked why Yair Netanyahu, who was initially expected to accompany his parents on the official state visit, would be staying behind in Israel, a noticeably agitated Netanyahu launched into a critique of the public discourse surrounding his son.

“I want you to think about how you would feel if [the press] were trampling all over your children with unmitigated cruelty,” he said.

Yair had been set to leave with the prime minister and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, after having been invited by Indian PM Narendra Modi and securing a visa, Hadashot TV news said Saturday, but was pulled from the delegation at the last-minute.

The Prime Minister’s Office refused to say whether the sudden change of plans was connected to the emergence of the recordings last week.