Tel Aviv court finds Liber guilty of bribery mediation — Jerusalem Post
The Tel Aviv District Court in Israel found communications adviser Yitzhak (Tzachi) Liber guilty of bribery mediation, money laundering and aiding in the preparation of false accounting records. The court found that Liber received nearly 94,000 shekels from businessman Miki Ganor, intended for David Sharan, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Payments through companies
The verdict concerns one episode of Case 3000, a corruption case involving Israel’s procurement of submarines and naval vessels from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp. Ganor represented the company in Israel, while Sharan held senior positions in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The court examined two transfers from Ganor’s company: 35,400 shekels transferred in November 2014 to Liber’s company, and 58,500 shekels transferred in August 2016 to the company of his business partner. According to Judge Shmuel Melamed’s conclusion, the companies and false invoices were used to conceal the purpose of the payments and the financial connection between Ganor and Sharan, as well as to record the payouts as business expenses.
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Defense version rejected
Liber, a close friend of Sharan, denied wrongdoing and said the money was payment for genuine communications and strategic consulting services. The defense insisted that Liber did not transfer the money to Sharan. The court rejected this version, citing Liber’s explanations during interrogations, Ganor’s statements to investigators, payment records, communications data and other materials.
According to the verdict, during questioning Liber said that he received the money and passed it to Sharan in cash, and also relayed information and requests concerning submarines between Ganor and Sharan. Liber and Ganor later retracted their incriminating accounts. The judge, however, concluded that the earlier statements were corroborated by payment documents, Ganor’s list of consultants, work notes and communications data. He also found Liber’s police confessions to be voluntary and reliable.
The prosecution requested that each payment be classified separately, but the court regarded the transactions as a single continuous criminal activity. Liber was found guilty on one count for each of the three offenses. Proceedings against Ganor, Sharan and other defendants in the main case are ongoing.
