Israeli police recommend PM indictment

Israel's police yesterday recommended that serving prime minister Ehud Olmert be indicted in two affairs. The Jerusalem Post says that as well as recommending that Olmert be charged in the Talansky and Rishon Tours affairs, police also said there was sufficient evidence to indict the prime minister's close associate and former law partner Uri Messer, it was reported on Monday morning. Israeli police recommend PM indictment Police recommended indicting Messer on charges of helping Olmert receive bribes and commit fraud in the Talansky cash-envelopes case. Police provided the state prosecution with in-depth detail into how Messer acted as a cashier on behalf of Olmert, keeping Long Island investor Morris Talansky's money and distributing it when needed. Messer stopped cooperating with police some three months ago, saying he had lost faith in his investigators due to persistent leaks from the inquiry. Israel Radio quoted a source close to the investigation as saying that police may have made the recommendation to indict Olmert's former law partner in order to pressure him into resuming his cooperation with police and maybe even into signing a deal with the state. Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann came to Olmert's defense and dismissed claims that the prime minister needs to quit due to the police recommendation. "There were police recommendations regarding previous prime ministers, but I don't remember such claims ever being made," he told Army Radio. "In the current case, we have heard discussions the likes of which we have never heard before, neither regarding a prime minister nor anyone else. I want to remind everyone that four previous prime ministers were investigated and there were also recommendations to try them. Why must we behave differently today? Moreover, Knesset laws dictate when a prime minister needs to resign and when he doesn't," continued the justice minister. Police recommended on Sunday evening that Olmert should be charged with bribery, breach of public trust, violation of anti-money laundering legislation and fraudulent receipt of goods. Olmert's media adviser Amir Dan stressed that the prime minister denied all the accusations against him and planned to fight to clear his name. Speaking to the radio station Monday, Dan said that in Israel, there was a tendency to rush into judging someone and later to conduct a "distorted" investigation. Dan blasted the police recommendations, saying police had an excellent public relations tool, which they were utilizing to its fullest. According to former National Fraud Unit investigator Boaz Gutman, Olmert will likely be formally charged in December. The police recommendations are based on two probes. The first examined Olmert's role in the Talansky case, in which Olmert is said to have illicitly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky in exchange for advancing the mogul's business interests. Olmert's promotion of Talansky's business led to the recommendation to indict him for bribery, police said. The second investigation, into what is known as the Rishon Tours affair, found that Olmert had acted illegally in double-billing charities and a government ministry for the same flights, sending them false receipts and using the excess reimbursements to pay for personal family travel. Police said a third investigation, known as the Investment Center affair, in which Olmert is suspected of having granted large state investment funds to a company that Messer was hired to represent, was almost complete, pending one more interrogation session that would be scheduled soon. Ehud Olmert (Beta)

Israeli police recommend PM indictment

Police recommended indicting Messer on charges of helping Olmert receive bribes and commit fraud in the Talansky cash-envelopes case.

Police provided the state prosecution with in-depth detail into how Messer acted as a cashier on behalf of Olmert, keeping Long Island investor Morris Talansky's money and distributing it when needed.

Messer stopped cooperating with police some three months ago, saying he had lost faith in his investigators due to persistent leaks from the inquiry.

Israel Radio quoted a source close to the investigation as saying that police may have made the recommendation to indict Olmert's former law partner in order to pressure him into resuming his cooperation with police and maybe even into signing a deal with the state.

Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann came to Olmert's defense and dismissed claims that the prime minister needs to quit due to the police recommendation.

"There were police recommendations regarding previous prime ministers, but I don't remember such claims ever being made," he told Army Radio.

"In the current case, we have heard discussions the likes of which we have never heard before, neither regarding a prime minister nor anyone else. I want to remind everyone that four previous prime ministers were investigated and there were also recommendations to try them. Why must we behave differently today? Moreover, Knesset laws dictate when a prime minister needs to resign and when he doesn't," continued the justice minister.

Police recommended on Sunday evening that Olmert should be charged with bribery, breach of public trust, violation of anti-money laundering legislation and fraudulent receipt of goods.

Olmert's media adviser Amir Dan stressed that the prime minister denied all the accusations against him and planned to fight to clear his name. Speaking to the radio station Monday, Dan said that in Israel, there was a tendency to rush into judging someone and later to conduct a "distorted" investigation. Dan blasted the police recommendations, saying police had an excellent public relations tool, which they were utilizing to its fullest.

According to former National Fraud Unit investigator Boaz Gutman, Olmert will likely be formally charged in December.

The police recommendations are based on two probes. The first examined Olmert's role in the Talansky case, in which Olmert is said to have illicitly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky in exchange for advancing the mogul's business interests. Olmert's promotion of Talansky's business led to the recommendation to indict him for bribery, police said.

The second investigation, into what is known as the Rishon Tours affair, found that Olmert had acted illegally in double-billing charities and a government ministry for the same flights, sending them false receipts and using the excess reimbursements to pay for personal family travel.

Police said a third investigation, known as the Investment Center affair, in which Olmert is suspected of having granted large state investment funds to a company that Messer was hired to represent, was almost complete, pending one more interrogation session that would be scheduled soon.