ISRAEL’S MOST important corruption trial got under way yesterday with former prime minister Ehud Olmert vowing to clear his name.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived at the Jerusalem district court, Mr Olmert, who is charged with bribery, fraud, breach of trust and income tax evasion, said: “I come here today as an innocent man . . . I will leave as an innocent man. I am sure that the outcome of this process will validate what I told you from the start.”
State prosecutors told the court in their opening statement that they had incriminating evidence against Mr Olmert. “The accused has claimed that he did not know what was going on and that he didn’t get into the details,” said Jerusalem district attorney Eli Abarbanel. “We’ll see that his memory is actually very good, way above average.”
Mr Olmert (64) is the first former prime minister to stand trial in an Israeli court. He resigned as prime minister in 2008 due to the corruption charges.
All the charges relate to three separate events when Mr Olmert served as Jerusalem mayor and trade minister, before he became prime minister in 2006.
In the Rishontours affair, Mr Olmert is suspected of double or triple-billing government ministries and various Jewish charities for trips abroad, during which he combined official business and charity-speaking engagements.
Police suspect he made more than €77,000, and used the money to purchase flights for himself and family members.
In the Talansky affair, he is suspected of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of it in cash-stuffed envelopes, from American-Jewish businessman Morris Talansky and, in return, helped him in business ventures.
The final affair relates to allegations that he granted favours to a former law partner while he was trade minister.