Israeli online publication Ha’aretz.com reports that following the corruption allegations against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his two sons, advisers to Sharon conceded on Tuesday that he had received $1,5-million from a South African businessman. Sharon’s advisers denied there was any connection to criminal activity.
It was reported on Tuesday that Israeli police were probing the $1,5-million loan (about R12,87-million) from South African businessman Cyril Kern to reportedly serve as collateral for a loan Sharon’s sons Omri and Gilad took out to pay back a company from which the prime minister received irregular contributions during his campaign for the leadership of the Likud party in 1999.
Ha’aretz.com reports that Sharon’s political adviser Eyal Arad told reporters at a Tel Aviv press conference convened in response to the allegations, that ”it is not by chance that there are leaks, lies and disinformation designed to bring down the prime minister and his government”.
Although Sharon remains the frontrunner, his Likud has lost about a quarter of its support in the polls amid separate allegations of vote-buying and organised crime involvement in last month’s party primary for parliament candidates.
The Israeli publication reports that Arad denied that the loan from Kern was a bribe, and said that it was a lawful loan that was repaid with interest last month. Arad also confirmed that Sharon has ordered Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein to root out the source of allegations.
Arad said that the money from Kern was not a donation but ”a private loan” that was reported to the authorities.
Sharon’s attorney Yoram Rabed said Kern was an old family friend and the money was transferred to Gilad without the knowledge of the prime minister. It is reported police have opened an investigation into the money transfer — although neither Sharon nor his sons have been questioned by police in the case.
Meanwhile, in South Africa, Kern said he and Sharon had been close friends for more than 50 years and saw and spoke to each other regularly.
”I have been a personal friend of Ariel Sharon since 1948 when we were in the same brigade in the army together. I loaned money to a friend and was very happy to do so.”
Kern added that he was not involved ”in any shape or form” in Israeli politics or South African politics and was ”very jealous” about his privacy.
The allegations have led to opposition Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna to call for the Israeli prime minister to resign.
South African justice representative Paul Setsetse said the ministry was aware of a request from the office of the state attorney in Israel to assist in investigating the matter ”especially the role of a South African citizen”.
However, the relevant documents had not yet been received. They are being delivered via the ministry of foreign affairs and should arrive by the end of the week.
”We will then look into the issue and consult widely, both here and abroad, and respond accordingly,” he said.
The case dates back to October 2001, when the state comptroller found Omri Sharon had raised money outside Israel for a previous political campaign of his father’s through a company called Annex Research. Although there was no suspicion of criminal wrongdoing, the comptroller asked Ariel Sharon to reimburse the company about $980 000 it paid to his campaign advisers.
Sharon repaid about $104 000 shortly thereafter, and Omri and Gilad secured a bank loan for the difference, using Sharon’s Sycamore Ranch in the Negev Desert as collateral, Haaretz Online reports.
But the bank called off the loan after learning Sharon did not own but leased the ranch land from the state. In January, three months after the state comptroller’s report, Kern transferred the $1,5-million to Gilad and Omri Sharon, and the money served as collateral for a loan the Sharon family obtained from a different Israeli bank to repay Annex, Haaretz Online reports.
”Despite this, when Sharon was asked by the police (in April 2002) how he organised the large payment to Annex, he replied that the payment was made possible as a result of mortgaging the ranch,” Haaretz quoted from the justice ministry document. The paper quoted the document as saying that at the time it was clear such a mortgage was not possible.
Legal analyst Moshe Negbi told AP that if the claims are true ”there’s no precedent for something of such severity with a sitting prime minister.” – Own reporter, Sapa, AP
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