Police Recommend Bribery Charges in Israel Submarine Affair

Nov 08 2018, 12:34 PMNov 08 2018, 1:14 PMNovember 08 2018, 12:34 PMNovember 08 2018, 1:14 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Israeli police have found sufficient evidence to charge at least six people -- including a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior ex-military officers -- in a bribery scandal over the purchase of submarines from Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG.

Among the six is David Shimron, Netanyahu’s personal legal adviser, police said in a text message. Others include the former head of Israel’s navy and Netanyahu’s former chief of staff. The prime minister himself, who gave testimony in the investigation, is not implicated.

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Shimron is suspected of of acting on behalf of Thyssenkrupp’s local representative to promote the deal through his status and access to Netanyahu and other public officials, and of receiving payments as “reward for success.” Police said there’s not enough evidence to charge Shimron’s law partner and brother-in-law, Yitzhak Molcho, who served for years as a foreign policy emissary for Netanyahu.