Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was convicted of two counts of bribery last week in the Holyland trial, will likely be summoned by the Israel Police for questioning under caution over his alleged efforts to obstruct justice. Olmert might be asked to appear at the National Fraud Unit headquarters as early as Sunday.
Under Israeli law, the police must tell interviewees they are "under caution" when they are potential subjects of a criminal investigation. In such cases, they are read their rights and informed of the possible charges they may face.
Olmert's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken, provided officials with new information Thursday allegedly showing that Olmert had tampered with witnesses and suborned perjury during the trial. This has prompted police to launch a preliminary probe to determine whether his interaction with Zaken during the trial was designed to influence her testimony and prevent her from signing a plea bargain with the state. Zaken and Olmert were both codefendants in the trial, which focused on the corruption that plagued the construction of the Holyalnd housing project in Jerusalem when Olmert was mayor and cabinet minister more than a decade ago. Roy Blecher, who represented Olmert during the Holyland trial, may also be summoned.
Police have also tried to determine whether Olmert asked his friend, real estate mogul Alfred Akirov, to hire Zaken to deter her from turning on him. Zaken has told investigators that she worked for Akirov for several months. According to Zaken, she was paid about NIS 25,000 ($7,200) per month to organize events at Akirov's hotels. Akirov's company, Alrov, issued a special statement over the weekend, saying, "Ms. Zaken worked for the company for several months, helping with the organization of events at Jerusalem hotels; her employment ended in April 2013." The company said Zaken received "12,000 shekels [$3,500] per month that were paid against invoices."
The evidence has also led to a separate line of inquiry to determine whether Olmert tried to buy Zaken's silence by asking his friend, tycoon Daniel Abrams, to fund her defense in a separate trial, which focused on the undeclared cash donations Olmert had received from American businessman Morris Talansky and the double-billing scheme Olmert's bureau used to fund his overseas travel (known collectively as the Talansky and Rishon Tours affairs.) Micha Pettman, who represented Zaken during that trial, could be asked to appear before investigators, as is Navot Tel-Zur, who represented Olmert during the trial.
Tel-Zur told Israel Hayom over the weekend that he "was never part of any obstruction of justice; if I am asked to testify I will provide a full account of what happened." Blecher and Pettman did not respond to a request for comment.
"The allegations are some of the gravest we have seen; it appears that those where supposed to uphold the rule of law colluded and took the law into their own hands," a law enforcement official told Israel Hayom on Saturday.