Yuval Steinitz
Photo: Ehud Zwigenberg
Min. Steinitz's former advisor arrested in sub probe
Domino effect caused by state witness Miki Ganor's testimony in affair continues as police arrest latest suspect who served as advisor to Steinitz during his tenure as finance minister; with suspect-detection radius rapidly expanding as Ganor continues to reveal details, investigators expected to close in on Steinitz himself.
Police arrested Sunday morning yet another suspect in the submarine affair
who served as an advisor to Energy and Water Resources Minister Yuval Steinitz when he headed the Finance Ministry between 2009-2013.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of committing offenses which have come to light as investigators continue in their efforts to make head and tail of the case, also known as Case 3000, involving the scandal-ridden purchasing of Israeli vessels from German submarine company ThyssenKrupp.
Yuval Steinitz (Photo: AP)
The former advisor is the latest to appear on the police’s radar which significantly broadened its detection radius following testimony provided by businessman and state witness Miki Ganor, who has implicated a catalogue of suspects who have since found themselves the target of the ongoing investigation.
In 2011, the suspect resigned from his post as Steinitz’s advisor as he took up a new senior position at a large private investment fund that used to be a majority shareholder in a large Israeli firm.
Photo: EPA
The former advisor is not the first to be questioned from among Steinitz’s coterie, as investigators recently questioned a businessman and close associate about a role he may have played in the affair.
With investigators gradually closing in on Steinitz himself, he is expected to be called in to testify, continuing the probe's momentum, given a further impetus by Ganor’s testimony, which gave rise to a wave of arrests of present and past prominent officials including, among others, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former cabinet chief David Sharan and strategic media advisor Tzachi Lieber
Last Monday, Former minister Eliezer (Moodi) Sandberg, former deputy national security advisor Brig. Gen. (ret.) Avriel Bar-Yosef, and political adviser Rami Tayeb were questioned by the Israel Police's Lahav 433.
Since then, Ganor has directly urged other officials being questioned, including former navy commander Eliezer (Chiney) Marom and Lieber to come clean on their involvement.
