Olmert may face criminal charges

JERUSALEM // Israeli police said yesterday they wanted the prime minister Ehud Olmert to face criminal charges in a corruption scandal driving him from office during peace talks with the Palestinians. Issuing a non-binding recommendation, police said they had evidence showing that Mr Olmert illegally received money from a US businessman and made duplicate claims for travel expenses when he served as mayor of Jerusalem and trade and industry minister.

He has denied any wrongdoing in a series of investigations. A police document said the recommendation included charges of bribery, fraud, money laundering and breach of public trust over funds that "reached hundreds of thousands of dollars". With Mr Olmert committed to resigning after his Kadima party holds a leadership vote on Sept 17, the recommendation will have no immediate impact on his tenure and does not guarantee an indictment will be filed by Israel's attorney-general.

Mr Olmert's lawyers called the police recommendation "meaningless" because only the attorney-general can decide whether or not to indict a prime minister. "We will wait patiently for the attorney-general's decision, and as opposed to the police, we have no doubt in our hearts he is well aware of the responsibility he carries," the lawyers said in a statement.

Mr Olmert, who has vowed to pursue US-backed peace talks with the Palestinians, could stay in office for weeks or months while his successor tries to form a new government coalition. Polls show the Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni as the front-runner in a Kadima leadership race pitting her against the transport minister, Shaul Mofaz, a former defence chief.

One case focuses on the New York-based fundraiser Morris Talansky who testified in an Israeli court in May he had given Mr Olmert $150,000 (Dh551,000 in cash-stuffed envelopes over a 15-year period. The police document said: "The investigation showed that Talansky transferred to Olmert over the years, at least since 1997, significant sums of money, in different ways, some in cash and illegally." At the same time, Mr Olmert used his position to promote Mr Talansky's businesses, the police said.

The second case deals with allegations that Mr Olmert double billed trips abroad with public institutions, including Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and used the extra money to fund private trips for himself and his family. The police said they will continue investigating Mr Olmert over allegations he used a former cabinet post to promote a friend's business interests and will soon decide whether to recommend further charges.

Under Israeli law, police submit their recommendation to the prosecution which then files its own legal opinion to the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, who is the only one authorised to indict a prime minister. *Reuters