Police say Sara Netanyahu a suspect in Bezeq-Walla probe
Speaking in a court in Tel Aviv, police representative says PM's wife and wife of Bezeq majority shareholder Shaul Elovtich, whose telecommunications giant owns Walla! News, were aware of the financial implications of forfeiting assets in Case 4000; Mrs. Netanyahu's lawyer denounces 'absurd suspicion.'
The investigation, also known as Case 4000, involves suspicions that Bezeq majority shareholder Shaul Elovitch and Prime Minister Netanyahu had a quid pro quo relationship in which Bezeq enjoyed regulatory benefits in return for favorable coverage of the Netanyahu family on Walla! News, which is owned by the telecommunications giant.
The discussion at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court concerned the question of the forfeiture of Bezeq majority shareholder Shaul Elovitch's assets.
A police superintendent said that Elovitch’s wife, Iris, and Sara Netanyahu knew the financial implications of their actions.
Superintendent Uri Kaner explained his conclusions in the discussion when asked by Iris Elovitch’s attorney if Sara Netanyahu knew that in exchange for sympathetic coverage, government benefits would be given to Bezeq.
The lawyer, Rosen Ozer, claimed that the state is discriminating between Iris Elovitch, whose property was seized by the police, and Mrs. Netanyahu. “None of Mrs. Netanyahu's assets have been seized,” the defense attorney reportedly complained.
Kaner added that other people had still not been investigated in the case, but it was unclear whether he was referring to suspects or witnesses.
A representative of the State Attorney's Office, Nitzan Wilko, said that the investigation is being satisfactorily conducted, forecasting that the case would be transferred to her office within half a year.
Mrs. Netanyahu’s defense attorney issued a statement in response. “What is new about this absurd ‘suspicion’? So the police said it. These things never happened,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, investigative police arrived at the prime minister's official residence to begin another round of questioning of the Israeli premier in the affair.
It was expected to be the final time that police officers question the prime minister at his residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem as investigative teams begin wrapping up the case and assembling the final details.
A statement released following the round of questioning on Netanyahu’s behalf said that he never received positive media coverage from Walla! News, which provided solid proof that the case is crumbling.
"Following the police questioning, Prime Minister Netanyahu is certain that case 4000 has finally collapsed", the statement's read.
"The facts unequivocally prove that Netanyahu's coverage in Walla when Shaul Elovitch was the majority shareholder remained as negative as when Walla was owned by Amos Schocken, and did not change in the slightest when Netanyahu became Minister of Communications,” it continued.
"On the other hand, other communications ministers received a tremendous boost in positive media coverage after taking office—not only by Walla, but by other major media outlets as well.
"No one claims, and rightly so, that there is something wrong with that. However, Netanyahu did not receive such a boost in positive media coverage, and therefore, this is another explanation for the crumbling 4000 case," the statement concluded.
