Comptroller to question Olmert and wife on alleged
benefits in apartment deal
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his wife, Aliza, will soon be
summoned for questioning by the State Comptroller's Office on
suspicion of receiving benefits worth some half a million
dollars.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is looking into suspicions
that the Olmerts were given an exorbitant discount on the purchase
price of a garden apartment on Jerusalem's Cremieux Street.
According to these suspicions, Olmert's associates worked to help
the contracting company that renovated the house to obtain unusual
permits from the Jerusalem municipality. These permits
significantly increased the profitability of the project.
The affair was first published on the NFC Internet site, run by
journalist Yoav Yitzhak.
The Prime Minister's Office said in response that "the prime
minister has not received any request from the comptroller's
office."
The Olmerts bought a garden apartment at 8 Cremieux Street in
Jerusalem in October 2004, for a price of $1.2 million. According
to the comptroller's findings, however, the apartment's true value
is between $1.6 million and $1.8 million. Thus at the time of the
sale, Olmert apparently received a discount worth between $400,000
and $600,000.
The building in which Olmert's apartment is located was defined as
a historic preservation site. The building covers an area of about
330 square meters, and the contractor who sold the apartment to
Olmert wanted to expand the building to cover an area of about 750
square meters. In order to do this, however, he needed a permit
from the Jerusalem municipality to tear down the existing building
and build it anew.
According to the material gathered by the comptroller, Olmert's
associates helped the contractor to obtain the necessary permits
from the Jerusalem municipality, and in the end, another two
apartments - in addition to Olmert's garden apartment - were built
in that building. Yitzhak claimed in his NFC report that the
company sold Olmert his apartment for $3,306 per square meter, but
it is asking significantly more for the other apartments in that
project.
The State Comptroller's Office believes that the evidence amassed
to date justifies summoning Olmert and his wife for questioning.
The Olmerts will probably be questioned by a team of investigators
from the State Comptroller's Office and by a retired police
officer, Major General Yaakov Borovsky, who serves as the
comptroller's adviser in his war against corruption. Soon after the
couple is questioned, the comptroller is expected to submit his
findings to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, so that the latter can
decide whether to open a criminal investigation.
The Prime Minister's Office said in response: "The prime minister
has not received any request from the comptroller's office. We have
trouble believing that once again, the State Comptroller's Office
has chosen to go to the media before going to the prime
minister."
Associates of Olmert added that they were surprised by the
comptroller's intention of summoning the prime minister's wife for
questioning as well, since she does not hold any public office.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/751449.html
Olmert must be feeling the heat now... All things bad comes when
you're at the lowest... hmmm... Karma actually exist.
