FORMER ISRAELI prime minister Ehud Olmert was indicted yesterday in the Jerusalem district court on corruption charges in three separate matters, relating to the period when he served as Jerusalem mayor and trade minister.
The indictments, in what are dubbed the Rishontours, Talansky and Investment Centre affairs, marks the first time in which a former Israeli prime minister is facing criminal charges.
The 61-page indictment includes charges of fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records, receiving illicit benefits and tax evasion.
Mr Olmert has denied any wrongdoing.
Rishontours is the travel agency that handled Ehud Olmert’s trips abroad. Between the years 2002 and 2006, he is suspected of double or triple-billing government ministries and various charities for trips abroad, during which he combined official business and speaking engagements to raise money for Israeli charities.
Police suspect Mr Olmert made more than €77,000 and used the money to purchase flights for himself and family members.
In the Talansky affair, American-Jewish businessman Morris Talansky allegedly gave Mr Olmert €105,000 over 10 years to finance his campaigns for Jerusalem mayor and internal Likud party elections. In return, police suspect Mr Olmert tried to help Talansky in business ventures.
In the Investment Centre affair, Mr Olmert is accused of a serious conflict of interest by granting favours to an old law partner during dealings with the centre while he was trade minister.
Although Mr Olmert has always maintained his innocence, mounting pressure caused by the investigations eventually made the position of the former leader of the centrist Kadima party untenable, forcing him to step down as prime minister last year.
Mr Olmert’s personal assistant over many years, Shula Zaken, was also charged with corruption.
Recently, Israeli courts have adopted a new zero-tolerance policy in corruption cases, sentencing a number of former ministers to several years in prison.
The former prime minister has hired some of Israel’s top lawyers to clear his name.