Ehud against Ehud: Olmert to be questioned on allegations that Barak took bribes
Olmert told former aide Zaken in taped phone call that Barak “has millions, tens of millions, stashed away in secret bank accounts in Switzerland, or somewhere,” allegedly from weapons deals.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBFormer prime minister Ehud Olmert (L) shakes hands with his defense minister, Ehud Barak(photo credit: REUTERS)
Police announced on Sunday night that former prime minister Ehud Olmert will be called as a witness in its investigation of allegations that former prime minister Ehud Barak took bribes.Two weeks ago, Attorney- General Yehuda Weinstein ordered police to investigate bribery allegations Olmert made against Barak in a taped conversation.The decision came a day after an NGO asked Weinstein to investigate taped allegations Olmert made sometime in 2007-2009 that his then defense minister Barak had taken millions of dollars in bribes as part of arms and weapons transactions.The NGO’s letter to Weinstein followed Channel 10’s airing of taped conversations between Olmert and his then top aide, Shula Zaken, in which he tells her of the allegations.Barak has denied the allegations.In the tapes, Olmert tells Zaken that Barak “has millions, tens of millions, stashed away in secret bank accounts in Switzerland or somewhere,” which he allegedly illegally skimmed off weapons deals.Olmert made no specific or concrete allegations.Channel 10 has noted that there is no independent corroboration of Olmert’s allegations against Barak and that the police do not think the case will end in an indictment.Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.
