Police asked the main suspect in Israel’s largest-ever real estate scandal if Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef received bribes.
The lawyer for Meir Rabin said April 26 that police asked Rabin whether he had given Yosef about $270,000 in donations, as well as bribes to two other lawmakers who served as ministers at the time, Israeli media are reporting.
“This is nonsense that should not be dignified with a response,” Lieberman’s office said.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his successor as Jerusalem mayor, Uri Lupolianski, have been named in the bribery scandal involving a large residential development on the site of the former Holyland Hotel in Jerusalem.
Rabin is accused of advancing the building project by offering bribes to senior public figures.
Meanwhile, Olmert’s former bureau chief Shula Zaken was taken into custody for questioning about the Holyland corruption affair when she landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport following a long trip abroad. Zaken was arraigned in court later on April 26 and her remand was extended to seven days. Police are hoping to gather evidence on Olmert’s involvement in the scandal by questioning Zaken. — jta