ISRAEL: Attorney General Orders Criminal Investigation Into Netanyahu Over Bribery And Fraud Allegations

The Times Of Israel reports:

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit reportedly approved a full criminal investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into allegations of bribery and fraud. Netanyahu will be investigated by police for two separate cases and will be called in for police questioning in the coming days, Channel 10 reported on Wednesday.

The Justice Ministry — under whose auspices the attorney general operates — declined to comment Wednesday evening on the Channel 10 report. There was no immediate response from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Police recently received new documents as part of a secret inquiry into the prime minister that began almost nine months ago, Channel 2 reported Tuesday. Based on those files, police turned to Mandelblit requesting that he agree to a full criminal investigation. The report stated that among the suspected offenses are bribe-taking and aggravated fraud.

In June, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich gave his go-ahead to the hush-hush investigation by the Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit, but demanded full cooperation on secrecy and that no details be leaked to the media.

Mandelblit also reportedly instructed employees in the state prosecutor’s office to look into allegations that Netanyahu accepted 1 million euros (about $1.1 million) from accused French fraudster Arnaud Mimran in 2009.