Former Navy Commander detained in Israeli submarine corruption probe
Tuesday's detention comes after six suspects were detained for questioning on Monday.
By ELIYAHU KAMISHERUpdated: JULY 12, 2017 00:35A Dolphin-class submarine enters Haifa port.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Police detained former OC Navy V.-Adm. (res.) Eliezer Marom on Tuesday, a day after they took six other suspects into custody in the investigation of contracts to acquire three more German- made submarines as well as ships intended to protect the offshore natural gas fields, termed Case 3000.Marom, who has been chairman of the Israel Airports Authority since 2015, was questioned as a suspect at the offices of the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit in Lod beginning early Tuesday morning and released to house arrest that night.He is suspected of receiving bribe money from Miki Ganor, the Israel representative of the German shipbuilder Thyssen- Krupp, Channel 2 reported.Marom commanded the navy from 2007 to 2011.Attorney Nati Simchony, who represents Marom, said his client denies any allegations against him.Among the suspects detained for questioning on Monday, three were arrested and had their remands extended: former deputy head of the National Security Council retired Brig.- Gen. Avriel Bar-Yosef; Ganor; and attorney Ronen Shemer who works with Ganor.Another suspect, a lawyer and close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was released to house arrest.The six people were detained on suspicion of bribery, fraud, money laundering and tax offenses.“At the time of the events, some of the suspects involved were civil servants, while others worked in the private sector,” the police’s Investigations and Intelligence Division said on Monday.Netanyahu’s personal lawyer David Shimron is reportedly suspected of pushing to buy submarines worth some $1.5 billion from the German firm over the objections of the defense establishment, including then-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon.
Shimron has denied any wrongdoing in the case. Netanyahu is not a suspect in the case. However, according to a Channel 2 report on Monday, police will summon Netanyahu for questioning and ask him to explain why he decided to appoint Bar-Yosef as head of the National Security Council in February 2016, despite suspicions Bar-Yosef worked in a conflict of interest with German businessmen. Bar-Yosef later withdrew his candidacy for the post.Attorney Jack Chen, who represents Bar-Yosef, told The Jerusalem Post that “after facing an investigation by the media, Avriel Bar-Yosef was happy to finally be given the opportunity to answer any questions and refute the allegations with the relevant officials.”
