Steinitz's brother-in-law, former advisor questioned in connection with submarine probe
State witness Miki Ganor tells investigators about alleged irregularities in Steinitz's Likud primary campaign, tied to his former campaign manager and brother-in-law Gary Hakim and former Finance Ministry adviser Aviad Shai.
The suspicions against them haven't been made public as the two have yet to be brought in front of a judge and instead were released under restrictive conditions.
The two have been questioned after their names came up in the testimony of state witness Miki Ganor, who was German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp's representative in Israel, helping to secure the purchase of submarines and patrol boats for the Israeli Navy.
Ganor told investigators about alleged irregularities in Steinitz's Likud primary elections campaign. Strategic consultant Tzachi Lieber, who was questioned in connection with the case at the end of last week, reportedly provided information to support Ganor's testimony concerning suspected irregularities linked to Shai and Hakim.
Hakim is a prominent Likud activist and member of the party's central committee. He worked as one of Steinitz's campaign managers in the past and is also considered to be close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner circle.
In 2010, a spotlight was put on him after Stenitz, then the finance minister, approved a request by Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering, which employed Hakim as its adviser, to bring hundreds of foreign workers to Israel.
According to a Channel 10 investigative report at the time, officials in the ministry's Budget Department approved the company's request to bring 300-500 additional foreign workers to the country. But when it came time to sign off on the request, Steinitz increased the number of foreign workers to 700.
A response on Steinitz's behalf to the story at the time claimed that, "The minister's decision was made based solely on professional considerations in order to promote the train project, because it was not possible to employ unskilled local workers. Any other claim is entirely baseless."
Hakim confirmed he worked for the company as an adviser, but insisted he "was not involved in this decision."
The second suspect, Aviad Shai, is an accountant who worked at the Deloitte accounting firm before starting to work for Steinitz at the Finance Ministry in 2009. He served as liaison between the Treasury and government ministers and MKs, and played a central role in economic decisions passed in the Knesset.
Shai left the Finance Ministry in 2011 to join the private sector and became a personal aide to Zehavit Cohen, the head of Apax Partners Israel and the head of Tnuva at the time.
According to the website of the Zap group, which is owned by Apax, Shai was appointed the group's CFO in June 2016. "Before joining the group, Shai served as the director of the economics department at the Someck-Chaikin KPMG accounting firm. Before that, he served in several economic positions of several Israeli firms, such as: Shikun & Binui, Tnuva, the Ministry of Finance and Deloitte," the website says.
Attorney Ziva Agami, who represents Aviad Shai, said her client was "completely surprised at being detained for questioning. He does not believe there was anything wrong with his conduct at any point. My client wasn't a political advisor to the minister, but a professional one. He wasn't questioned over his time working for the minister, but regarding (a period of time in) 2014. He has nothing to hide and has provided a truthful version. In my professional opinion, it is already clear to investigators he has nothing to do with the case and has committed no offense. My client does not know Ganor and has not heard about him before the investigation was made public."
Five of Steinitz's close associates have so far been arrested in connection with the case, also known as Case 3000, with investigators gradually closing in on Steinitz himself, who is expected to be called in to testify.
