fbpx

News

State Comptroller to publish report on Netanyahu expenses this month

[ssba]

Israel’s State Comptroller Joseph Shapira announced yesterday that he intends to publish a report into alleged excessive spending at the household of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in two weeks time, a month ahead of the general election.

Shapira received complaints into the matter 18 months ago. However, the allegations have been in the spotlight in recent days due to fresh claims over expenditure on alcohol and accusations that Netanyahu’s wife Sara ordered staff to meticulously collect the empty bottles from official functions and return them to collect deposits which she then kept.

Israel’s Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein is set to pursue the allegations against Sara Netanyahu to determine whether a criminal investigation should be launched. According to Ynet, the State Comptroller’s report will deal with allegations that the Netanyahus used state-employed staff for private purposes and that there was excessive expenditure at the Prime Minister’s Residence on a number of items. Shapira said that the evidence gathered “raise concern of compromised integrity or possible criminal activity.”

Netanyahu’s lawyer, David Shimron called for a similar investigation into the expenditure of previous prime ministers and presidents, commenting “We are not against an investigation, but he [State Comptroller Shapira] should investigate everyone.”

Haaretz says that a source familiar with the report believes that its publication prior to the general election could negatively impact Netanyahu’s performance at the ballot box. Nonetheless, despite the speculation, with the impending report dominating the front pages of most newspapers this morning, Netanyahu’s Likud Party does not appear to be suffering in the polls. A Haaretz survey published yesterday indicated that Likud has overtaken the Zionist Union headed by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni as the projected largest party. The poll predicts that Likud would secure 25 Knesset seats in comparison to Zionist Union’s 23 seats. Polls published at the end of last week also projected a narrow victory for Likud, which appears to have gained some support at the expense of Jewish Home.