- Two investigations being conducted simultaneously against
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stand at varying stages of evidence collection,
but according to some interpretations, charges could already be filed against
individuals involved in both cases - including the prime minister.
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- Unlike the investigation into the loan received from
South African-based businessman Cyril Kern, almost all relevant evidence
has been gathered in the "Green Island" case. The most important
piece of evidence is the contract between the prime minister's son, Gilad
Sharon, and contractor David Appel.
- To date, none of the individuals questioned provided
a suitable explanation as to why Appel, an experienced contractor, hired
Gilad Sharon, at the time a 30-year-old economist, and was willing to pay
him hundreds of thousands of dollars for consultations on his business
plans in Greece. This followed the fact that Sharon's Sycamore Ranch company
had not provided such consultation services in the past, and his company
specialized in agriculture. Police investigators are also in possession
of tapes with information on relations between now- Industry and Trade
Minister Ehud Olmert (who was Jerusalem mayor at the time) and Appel, as
well as between Ariel Sharon and Appel during the 1999 Likud primaries.
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- So investigators in fact have all of the evidence. State
Prosecutor Edna Arbel and Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein must now
decide how to construe the evidence and conclude if it proves that a bribery
deal was carried out between Appel and Olmert.
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- In the investigation of the Kern loan, investigators
are still trying to gather additional evidence, and are waiting for an
Austrian court to allow judicial inquiries. Inquiries in Austria may reveal
who had vested interest in the case, and who could have stood behind the
$1.5 million transfer from Kern's bank account in Austria to Gilad Sharon's
account in Tel Aviv. The documents that the police requested that Gilad
Sharon transfer to investigators, if they have not yet been destroyed,
may shed light on the case. Based on certain interpretations, police may
have enough evidence to present indictments against various individuals
involved in the case.
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- According to the law, if a large sum of money is given
to a public official, especially if he is prime minister, he or she must
provide judicial authorities with an explanation and clarify the purpose
of the monetary gift (as was done in the case of gifts given to former
president Ezer Weitzman from his friend, French businessman Edward Sarrousi).
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- The police and state prosecution have not accepted the
prime minister's line of defense, according to which he had no connection
to the aforementioned monetary transactions. It is clear to the judicial
authorities that the money was used to return illegal loans Sharon received
from donors during the 1999 primaries.
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- Based on this assumption, police can try the prime minister
on lesser charges in the case, including a violation of the Parties Funding
Law and the Parties Law. Investigators have concrete evidence that, contrary
to his testimony and statements made to the attorney general, the prime
minister knew about an American shell company called Annex Research Ltd.,
which transferred money to his campaign fund. It is also clear that Ariel
Sharon signed a number of checks that were transferred to money lenders.
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