Top consultant suspected of corruption is former Olmert confidant

A top consultant questioned over allegations of corruption was named Wednesday as Ovad Yehezkel, a former cabinet secretary and previous close associate of former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

Yehezkel is the founder and head of a strategic consultancy firm, and has served also in various public capacities. He was appointed cabinet secretary during the 16th Knesset and served in that position until Olmert resigned as prime minister in 2009 amid allegations of corruption.

Yehezkel allegedly took a cut from funds earmarked for a joint project by several NGOs, which had hired him to book a public-relations firm to market the project. The NGOs were reportedly unaware that he was appropriating part of the budget.

Yehezkel’s attorney, Shimon Dolan, said he was “completely cooperative and answered every question.”

“We believe the allegations against him come from false information as well as an erroneous interpretation of his actions, which were unimpeachable,” said Dolan. “We are troubled by the unbearable ease with which the good names of our client, his family and his employees are being tarnished. We hope the investigation will end soon and that when his reputation is cleared it will be just as resonant as the publications that have harmed his good name.”

Another public servant whose name was made public in the case is Ayelet Azulai, former chief of staff for former minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, who is himself expected to stand trial on graft charges.

Azulai is already a suspect in the corruption affair involving her former boss, in which police recommended that she be indicted for alleged breach of trust. In the affair involving Yehezkel, Azulai was linked to two other suspects, media adviser Ronen Moshe and Agriculture Ministry Chief of Staff Tali Kedar.