Report: PM will likely be questioned under caution in latest investigation
The reports follow the 15 hours of questioning on Thursday of Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, who was placed under a five-day house arrest.
By GIL HOFFMAN, CORAL BRAUNPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks alongside Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali, Rwanda on July 6(photo credit: REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to undergo an investigation under caution, as part of a probe into a wider, unspecified investigation surrounding alleged money-laundering, Channel 2 and Channel 10 reported on Friday night.Earlier Friday, The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication Maariv quoted law enforcement officials saying that they will ask Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit to order an investigation of the prime minister.According to the Channel 2 report, members of Netanyahu’s family are also likely to be questioned regarding money and presents allegedly given to them.The reports follow the 15 hours of questioning on Thursday of Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, who was placed under a five-day house arrest.Channel 2 reported that Harow’s latest questioning differed from what he went through in December, which focused on his personal dealings. The current questioning dealt with issues pertaining to Netanyahu. Harow is expected to be questioned again in the upcoming days.While the probe into Netanyahu’s fund-raising dealings are sourced locally and mostly internal, there are some external influences. Channel 2 and Channel 10 reported that Jona Rechnitz, a family member of Shlomo Rechnitz, an American businessman and documented donor for Netanyahu, became entangled in a US based probe surrounding personal dealings.FBI investigations into the affairs of the Rechnitz family member revealed a connection to Netanyahu.This discovery, Channel 2 reported, transforms the Netanyahu investigation into a tri-national probe, with possible evidence in Israel, the US, and France.Due to the global magnitude and nature of this probe, Netanyahu’s investigation will likely be a lengthy one, and may involve FBI cooperation.A source close to Netanyahu responded to the reports that “the probes will result in nothing, because there isn’t anything.”