Sharon denies bribery allegations after questioning

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denied any wrongdoing today when police questioned him about a bribery scandal, Israel Radio…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denied any wrongdoing today when police questioned him about a bribery scandal, Israel Radio reported.

Mr Sharon said that he was not aware of his son Gilad Sharon's business deals with an Israeli property dealer who has been charged with attempting to bribe the prime minister in the 1990s.

Mr Sharon's office made no comment on the report.

Police questioned Mr Sharon for two-and-a-half hours at his official Jerusalem residence about the bribery scandal.

READ MORE

A senior police source said Mr Sharon had "cooperated fully" during the session and investigators had no immediate plans to question him again.

A businessman friend was charged last month with trying to bribe Mr Sharon when he was foreign minister. Prosecutors have said they should decide within months whether to indict the prime minister - a move many analysts believe would force him from office.

Last month, property developer David Appel was indicted on charges of bribing Sharon.

The property developer is alleged to have paid Mr Sharon's son Gilad to work as a consultant for a tourism project in the late 1990s and prosecutors also allege money was in effect used as a bribe for Mr Sharon, who was then foreign minister.

In what has commonly become known as the 'Greek Island Affair', police have been examining claims that Sharon, members of his family and his deputy, Ehud Olmert, took money from Mr Appel in return for favours.

The bulk of the money was allegedly paid to Sharon's son, Gilad, for marketing services in a tourism development deal in Greece that failed.

Under Israeli law, a person can be convicted of accepting a bribe only if criminal intent is proven. This allows for a case in which the recipient of a bribe is not indicted.