Investigation of Olmert Urged By Israeli Watchdog Group
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s chief government watchdog recommended a criminal investigation yesterday into a business deal conducted by Prime Minister Olmert before he became prime minister, further weakening the embattled leader.
The state comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss, concluded that when Mr. Olmert was trade minister in 2001, he interfered improperly in the process of awarding grants to Israeli businesses through the ministry’s Investment Center, favoring supporters.
Mr. Olmert has consistently denied wrongdoing in all the cases that have emerged against him in recent years, including real estate deals with questionable profits and alleged attempts to skew a tender for the sale of a large bank to benefit his backers.
“The prime minister has lost faith in the state comptroller,” Mr. Olmert’s office said. “We have no doubt that this affair … will blow away like foam on top of water.”
Ultimately, the attorney general has the final say about whether a criminal investigation will be opened. But the growing number of potential scandals is harming Mr. Olmert’s standing at a time when his popularity has plummeted to single figures because of last year’s inconclusive war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
