This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7035526.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ehud Olmert: Corruption allegations Ehud Olmert: Corruption allegations
(1 day later)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is alleged to be involved in a number of corruption scandals, and faces a criminal investigation in one case. He denies any wrongdoing in all cases. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was plagued during his three years in office by a string of corruption scandals, which played a major part in his eventual resignation. In August 2009, he was indicted in three of the main cases. Police have closed two others. Mr Olmert denies all wrongdoing and says he his confident he will prove his innocence in court.
THE TALANSKY CASE TALANSKY CASE - OLMERT CHARGED
Prosecutors are investigating donations to Mr Olmert - reported to amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars - from a New York-based financier, Morris (or Moshe) Talansky. Mr Olmert has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and concealing fraudulent earnings in connection with donations received from the a New York-based financier, Morris (or Moshe) Talansky between 1997 and 2005.
Olmert denies corruption allegations but says he will resign if chargedOlmert denies corruption allegations but says he will resign if charged
Mr Olmert admits taking money, but insists they were legal donations to fund his campaigns for re-election as mayor of Jerusalem and for the leadership of the Likud party. Mr Talansky has testified that he handed over cash to Mr Olmert amounting to $150,000 to fund political campaigns, as well as - he hinted - a liking for fine hotels, cigars, pens and watches.
In a sensational court appearance that outraged media commentators and shocked many Israelis, Mr Talansky said he handed over cash to Mr Olmert amounting to $150,000 to fund political campaigns, as well as - he hinted - a liking for fine hotels, cigars, pens and watches. Mr Olmert admits taking money, but says it was legal donations to fund his campaigns for re-election as mayor of Jerusalem and for the leadership of the Likud party.
Mr Talansky said he was not aware how all the money had been spent, nor did he receive any favours as a result of his fundraising. He did say that he gave a "loan" - never repaid - of $25,000 so Mr Olmert could go on holiday to Italy. In the charge sheet, prosecutors say Mr Olmert failed to declare the funds. They say he received at least $600,000 in total, some in cash, some as bank transfers.
There have as yet been no charges filed in the case. The witness was questioned under oath during a private visit to Israel on 28 May and will be cross-examined on a later date. Prosecutors say up to $350,000 of this was held in a "secret cache" managed by a close associate of Mr Olmert's, Uri Messer, who is also named in connection with the Investment Center case (see below).
The testimony has prompted calls for Mr Olmert to stand down from Ehud Barak of the Labour party, a junior coalition member. Mr Olmert has stressed he will only resign if indicted. They also say he used his official capacity as Minister of Trade and Industry to facilitate introductions - sometimes with official letterheads - with hotel managers for Mr Talanksy, a partner in a firm providing mini-bars for hotels.
'FRAUD' The charge sheet says Mr Olmert did so while aware he was in an "acute conflict of interest".
In July, police widen the investigation into Mr Talansky's allegations to also look at whether Mr Olmert may have committed fraud. "I never took bribes, I never took a penny for myself," Mr Olmert has said in connection with the case.
A statement issued by the police and justice ministry after the prime minister is interviewed for a third time about the corruption allegations says he was also "asked to give his account about suspicions of serious fraud and other offences". He has said Mr Messer handled the funds lawfully, while Mr Messer's lawyer said the police were "mistaken" when they made the initial allegations.
"According to the suspicions, during his tenure as Jerusalem mayor and trade and industry minister, Olmert would seek duplicate funding for his trips abroad from public bodies, including from the state, with each of them requested to fund the same trip," it adds. RISHON TOURS - OLMERT CHARGED
Police suspect that the "considerable sums" that remained after the travel expenses were paid for were transferred by Mr Olmert to a special account his travel agency administered for him. Mr Olmert has been charged with concealing fraudulent earnings, fraud, breach of trust, fraudulent tax evasion and fraudulent registration of corporate documents in connection with claims that he over-billed the Israeli state and Jewish charities for trips abroad.
"These monies were used to finance private trips abroad by Olmert and his family," the police statement says. The charge sheet says he and his aide Shula Zaken "developed a fraud system" using false documents, through which he gained $92,164.
Mr Olmert later insists he "never took a penny" from any of the public bodies. The charge sheet says this included asking each of a number of organisations to fund the same trip, and falsifying elements of itineraries.
'ABUSE OF POWER' The state and the organisations "paid surplus funds for the purchase of air travel for the defendant, in a manner which left in his hands substantial financial surplus, that served him and his family to finance private flights and to upgrade his flights to first class", the charge sheet says.
Israel's attorney general has ordered police to investigate decisions taken by Mr Olmert when he was trade and industry minister between 2003 and 2005. Organisations billed in this way included Akim, a charity which helps disabled people, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre, and March of the Living, which takes Jewish teenagers to visit the Nazi death camp sites, prosecutors say.
A statement by the attorney general said police would investigate whether Mr Olmert had appointed political associates to the Medium and Small Enterprises Authority and other government bodies. Mr Olmert's lawyers said the attorney general's decision to back indictment in the case was "puzzling and unreasonable", and that some of the details and allegations were not raised when the former prime minister was questioned.
They will also look into whether Mr Olmert helped secure special funding for a factory represented by his ex-law partner, the statement said. A lawyer representing Ms Zaken, who is indicted on several of the same charges as Mr Olmert, said she had no comment on the allegations.
Mr Olmert's office has denied the allegations, saying: "These are unnecessary investigations. It's clear beyond any doubt that the investigation will yield nothing." INVESTMENT CENTER - OLMERT CHARGED
BANK LEUMI Mr Olmert has been charged with fraud and breach of trust in connection with claims regarding his conduct as Minister of Trade and Industry.
In November, police said there were no grounds to lay charges against Mr Olmert in connection with the privatisation of a bank while he was finance minister in 2005. Prosecutors say Mr Olmert knowingly placed himself in a situation where he faced an "acute conflict of interest" by dealing personally with issues involving business figures represented by lawyer Uri Messer, a friend and former business partner.
Mr Olmert was alleged to have tried to influence the sale of the state's controlling interest in Bank Leumi, Israel's second-largest bank, in favour of a friend. These related particularly to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, including projects handled by the Investments' Center, a ministry-run body.
PROPERTY PURCHASE (OR THE CREMIEUX STREET AFFAIR) Mr Olmert held some meetings directly with Mr Messer and his clients, and changed some decisions made by the ministry in their favour, the charge sheet says.
Mr Olmert is facing a criminal investigation by police into his purchase of a Jerusalem property. It lists four examples - one of which was the reversal of the lowering of a tariff on oil imports during a period when Mr Messer was representing a major Israeli producer of oil products.
A government watchdog found that he paid $325,000 (£162,500) below market value for the house. Mr Messer has said that his dealings with the industry ministry were "routine" and "businesslike".
The prime minister has insisted the price was fair and the inquiry was "uncalled for". When the state comptroller published a report on the allegations in this and the political appointments case in 2007, a spokeswoman for Mr Olmert accused him of unprecedented unprofessionalism and duplicity.
If police do find that Mr Olmert received favourable terms in return for benefits to the vendor, they will pass the matter to the attorney general to decide whether he is charged. POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS - CHARGES RECOMMENDED
The case is known as the Cremieux Street affair after the address of the property. In October 2007, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ordered a police investigation into allegations that Mr Olmert, when he held the jobs of trade minister, communications minister and finance minister, had improperly appointed associates from the Likud party to posts on government bodies.
AIDE INVESTIGATED The investigation was completed in July 2009. Police concluded that there was a basis to indict Mr Olmert and others for fraud and breach of trust.
A senior official in Mr Olmert's office was placed under house arrest as part of an alleged corruption scandal in January 2007. The findings have been submitted to Mr Mazuz, who will decide whether Mr Olmert should be indicted.
Shula Zaken, Mr Olmert's personal secretary and a close aide for 30 years, allegedly abused her position to influence the appointment of some tax officials in return for tax benefits. An adviser to Mr Olmert accused the police and prosecutors of "petty and inappropriate score-settling" and creating "media spin" when the announcement of their conclusions coincided with the closing of the Cremieux Street investigation (see below).
Ms Zaken has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing. Police have said that there is no direct connection in this case to Mr Olmert. BANK LEUMI - CASE CLOSED
She has been released from house arrest, but suspended from her job pending investigations. In November, police said there were no grounds to lay charges against Mr Olmert in connection with the privatisation of Bank Leumi - Israel's second largest bank - while he was finance minister in 2005; it had been alleged he tried to influence the sale of the state's controlling interest in the bank in favour of a friend.
'CONFLICT OF INTEREST' CREMIEUX STREET - CASE CLOSED
Israel's commissioner for standards in public life recommended in April 2007 that police investigate a business deal Mr Olmert made before he became prime minister. Israel's attorney general decided in August 2009 to close a criminal investigation by police into Mr Olmert's purchase of a Jerusalem property in 2004, in which he paid $325,000 (£162,500) below market value.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss alleged that Mr Olmert had arranged investment opportunities for a friend while he was industry minister. The investigation was closed due to lack of evidence. The prime minister has insisted the price was fair and the inquiry (into whether he had received a discount for speeding up a property development project) was "uncalled for".
Mr Lindenstrauss alleged that Mr Olmert had placed himself in situation where a conflict of interest arose by dealing personally with issues involving his lawyer, friend and former business partner Uri Messner. The case was known as the Cremieux Street affair after the address of the property.
Mr Messner was applying for financial benefits from the state through the Industry Ministry's Investment Centre.
The prime minister's office has said that Mr Olmert did not intervene personally in any way in the application.
Mr Messner has said that his dealings with the industry ministry were "routine" and "businesslike".
At the time of the allegations, a spokeswoman for Mr Olmert accused the state comptroller of unprecedented unprofessionalism and duplicity.