- Fraud detectives questioned Ariel Sharon for seven hours
yesterday in separate investigations of bribery and money laundering.
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- It is the first time prime minister Sharon has been interrogated
under caution about a $1m loan from a close friend to one of the his sons,
which was used to repay illegal campaign contributions.
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- The second investigation concerns the circumstances in
which a businessman hired another of Mr Sharon's sons to help win Greek
government approval for construction of a tourist resort.
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- The police are investigating whether the businessman
bribed Mr Sharon, who was foreign minister at the time, to influence the
decision.
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- He has denied knowledge of the transfer of $1m by Cyril
Kern, a British businessman living in South Africa, to his son, Gilad.
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- Mr Sharon's difficulty will be in persuading the police
that not only did he not know that one of his closest friends had made
a "loan" to one of his sons, but that he never asked how the
illegal campaign funds were repaid, as he was required by law.
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- Detectives say an obstacle to their investigations has
been the refusal of the authorities in Austria, where the money deposited
into the Sharons' account originated, to let them take depositions there.
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- Mr Sharon's critics have accused him of hiding behind
Gilad.
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- Officers are expected to question him further today.
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1074859,00.html
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