IDF major general questioned in submarine fraud probe

Raoul Wootliff

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Police detain suspect at Lahav 433 serious crime unit, a day after six others were hauled in to face investigators

An IDF submariner peers through his vessel’s periscope during a surprise exercise in May 2017. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Police on Tuesday detained for questioning a former major general in the IDF in connection with suspected corruption in the multi-million dollar purchase of naval vessels from Germany.

The suspect was questioned under caution at the Lahav 433 serious crimes unit in Lod, police said, offering no further details on the identity of the suspect and the the crimes he’s suspected of.
The development came a day after six suspects were brought in for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation into so-called “Case 3000,” or the “submarine affair.” They are suspected of attempting to sway the deals in favor of the German shipbuilder ThyssenKryupp.

Police initially withheld the names of the suspects. However, later in the day, it was revealed that two of the suspects are former deputy head of the National Security Council Avriel Bar-Yosef and ThyssenKryupp’s Israeli agent, Miki Ganor. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer David Shimron was also grilled.

The names of the others still cannot be reported.

The suspects were questioned under caution for more than 12 hours over suspicions of fraud, bribery, tax evasion and money laundering, the Israel Police and the Tax Authority said in a joint statement. “At the time of the events under question, some of the suspects were public servants and some worked in the private sector,” the statement said.

Following the interrogations, three of the suspects were brought to the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s court, where Chief Justice Einat Ron agreed with the police request to hold Bar-Yosef and Ganor for a further four days, and relegate Shimron to three days of house arrest.

Netanyahu is not a suspect in the case. However, police are planning to summon him to testify on what he knows about the issue and specifically as to whether he knew of the corruption allegations against Bar-Yosef when he sought to appoint him head of the National Security Council in 2016, Channel 2 news reported.

Bar-Yosef’s candidacy was later withdrawn when it emerged that he was suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for promoting the interests of German businessmen involved in the development of Israel’s offshore gas fields.

David Shimron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, at a Likud press conference in Tel Aviv, February 1, 2015. (Flash90)

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit ordered the Israel Police to formally look into the submarine affair in November 2016, after accusations surfaced that Netanyahu may have been swayed to purchase vessels by business ties Shimron had with ThyssenKrupp. The deals for patrol boats and submarines came under intense scrutiny late last year, after it was revealed by Channel 10 news that Shimron also served in an advisory capacity for ThyssenKrupp, which was awarded the contracts for building Israel’s submarines and naval attack boats.

In December, officers from the Lahav 433 unit entered the office of legal adviser Ahaz Ben-Ari at the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv and removed information from computers there. The data concerned the cancellation of an international tender to build four new warships to protect Israel’s offshore natural gas rigs in the Mediterranean Sea.

The contract was awarded instead to ThyssenKrupp. Under the 2015 deal, worth €430 million ($480 million), ThyssenKrupp is to supply Israel with four “Sa’ar 6 corvette” ships over a period of five years.

The purchase was opposed by parts of the defense establishment, including then-defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, who has since threatened to “tell all” on Netanyahu’s involvement, if the prime minister is not indicted as part of the probe.

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