Benjamin Netanyahu is suspected of having committed bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Israeli police have confirmed.
The Israeli Prime Minister is accused of offering commercial favours to a newspaper owner in return for positive coverage and of accepting bribes from a Hollywood billionaire.
Investigators have secured a gagging order as they try to persuade the politician’s former chief of staff to testify in the cases. The order was granted and will remain in force until 17 September.
A spokesperson for Mr Netanyahu said the claims were untrue and politically-motivated, according to Haaretz.
“We completely reject the unfounded claims made against the prime minister,” they said. “The campaign to change the government is underway, but it is destined to fail, for a simple reason: there won’t be anything because there was nothing.”
Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mendelblit, said talks with Mr Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, Ari Harow, about acting as a witness for the state were “making progress”.
Mr Netanyahu is accused of wrongdoing in two separate cases.
Read the full article by Ben Katish at The Queensland Times.