Israeli prosecutors have announced the opening of a criminal investigation into the failed start-up of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s challenger, shaking up the final days of what has been a bitter and tumultuous election campaign.
The announcement did not say whether Benny Gantz was a suspect, but it came less than two weeks before the March 2 election and during a campaign in which the former military’s chief’s Blue and White party has painted itself as a scandal-free alternative to Mr Netanyahu, who is to go on trial for corruption next month.
Throughout the campaign, Mr Gantz has tried to focus all attention on Mr Netanyahu’s legal troubles and presented himself as an honest alternative.
In a statement, the Justice Ministry said that after examining documents and considering other evidence, “the acting state prosecutor has decided to move the subject of the suspicions surrounding the company Fifth Dimension to a criminal investigation”.
“The investigation will be conducted by Israeli police.”
After retiring from the army, Mr Gantz headed Fifth Dimension, a cyber-security company that held talks with Israeli police over the sale of its products.
According to Israel’s state comptroller, the police may have violated acquisition laws by granting the company a multi-million-dollar contract without a public tender.
Fifth Dimension later went bankrupt.
Mr Gantz did not comment. But earlier in the day, amid reports that a criminal probe was imminent, he denied any wrongdoing. The reports said Mr Gantz was not a suspect in the affair.
Read the article by Tia Goldenberg in The Australian.