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Three more suspects have been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the purchase of submarines for the Israeli navy, referred to as “Case 3000” in Israel.

Six people were arrested on Sunday, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former Chief of Staff, David Sharan.

Yesterday, Sharan was joined by former cabinet minister Eliezer (Modi) Zandberg, former deputy National Security Advisor Brigadier General (ret.) Aviel Bar-Yosef, former political advisor Rami Tayeb, and senior National Security Council member Atalia Rosenbaum. The charges include bribery, money laundering, fraud and breach of trust.

Bar-Yosef, Tayeb and Sharan have close professional relationships with the Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz, who could be questioned shortly.

Steinitz said that “the news of their arrests struck like a bolt, out of the blue. I am known as one of the most decent people, I am very strict, I have never looked for more money,” and that he “never saw even a tiny trace of corruption among them”.

Neither Steinitz nor Netanyahu are currently under investigation as part of “Case 3000”.

It is widely assumed that the arrests are a result of information provided by Miki Ganor, the Israeli representative of German ship-builder Thyssen-Krupp who has been under house arrest for two months after agreeing to become a states witness.

Zandberg is the World Chairman of Keren Hayesod and a partner in a venture capital fund. He is also a former cabinet minister.

“Case 3000” involves an agreement between Israel and Germany to buy three submarines, despite opposition from then Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and several high-ranking IDF officers. Oversight of the deal was removed from the Defence Ministry and brought under the responsibility of the Office of the Prime Minister. A tender for the construction of patrol boats is also being investigated. Israeli authorities discussed the tender with three different South Korean shipyards before it was cancelled and given to Thyssen-Krupp.

Haaretz security expert Amos Harel notes that “of all the cases in which Netanyahu’s name has been mentioned, Case 3000 – in which Netanyahu is not considered a suspect, could have the most serious public ramifications. One can argue about the import of taking cigars and Champagne, and even about a deal to replace hostile coverage of Netanyahu with more favourable reporting. But if it emerges that state security was being compromised for money, that’s another story entirely.”