Sunday, September 7, 2008

Israeli PM 'Should Be Indicted'

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="226" caption="Mr Olmert has been PM since he succeeded Ariel Sharon in March 2006"]Mr Olmert has been PM since he succeeded Ariel Sharon in March 2006[/caption]

Israeli police have formally recommended to prosecutors that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be indicted in a corruption investigation.

The decision about whether to indict Mr Olmert now rests with Attorney General Meni Mazuz.

Mr Olmert has already announced that he will resign later this month because of the multiple corruption investigations he is facing.

He has consistently denied all the accusations against him.

The ruling Kadima party is to hold a leadership vote on 17 September.

The police said they had evidence showing Mr Olmert allegedly accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from American businessman Morris Talansky.

Mr Olmert is also accused of filing duplicate claims to government agencies for travel expenses.

The accusations date back to his time as mayor of Jerusalem and minister of trade and industry before he became prime minister in 2006.

Mr Olmert's lawyers said the police recommendation to indict the prime minister was meaningless.

"The only person authorised by the law to decide whether to indict a prime minister is the attorney general. He has the authority and he bears the responsibility over the issue," his lawyers said in a statement.

Mr Mazuz is expected to make his decision in the next few weeks.

Source: BBC

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