The Australian billionaire James Packer has had a turbulent few months, ending his high-profile engagement with pop star Mariah Carey, suffering a steep decline in profits from his Crown Resorts operation in Macau, and a crackdown leaving 17 of his China-based staff still in detention.
Now James Packer is making headlines in Israel for all the wrong reasons.
In recent weeks, sensational allegations of gifts, influence peddling, and attempts to buy favourable media coverage have emerged, involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his close ties with a handful of select billionaires.
One of them is James Packer.
Mr Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.
It’s been reported that Mr Packer provided generous flights, gifts and hospitality to the Prime Minister’s son, Mariah Carey tickets to the head of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and that Prime Minister Netanyahu set up an investors’ meeting between Mr Packer and a newspaper publisher, in exchange for favourable coverage of his Prime Ministership by that newspaper.
Dr Tehilla Altshuler is the director of the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute.
Speaking earlier from Jerusalem, she told me that police are still investigating Prime Minister Netanyahu and his family, but the allegations have serious implications for Israel.
Listen to the report by Sarah Dingle on the ABC PM program.