ISRAEL’S ATTORNEY general, Yehuda Weinstein, is expected to announce plans to indict foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman this week.
Mr Lieberman faces allegations of fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Israeli media reported that bribery allegations have been dropped but, if convicted, the controversial minister still faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Police suspect that Mr Lieberman obtained €2 million from businessmen, which was funnelled through foreign bank accounts and foreign-based straw firms when he served as transport minister, national infrastructure minister and strategic affairs minister.
He is also suspected of having received an illegal tip-off from Israel’s ambassador to Belarus, Ze’ev Ben-Aryeh, in 2008, who showed Mr Lieberman classified documents allowing him to subvert the investigation process.
Mr Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, stated on several occasions previously that if the attorney general recommended an indictment he would quit his post after a hearing took place.
However, he made it clear that he would not pull Yisrael Beiteinu out of the coalition. Yisrael Beiteinu, which adopts a hard line on the peace process and Israel’s Arab minority, has 15 members in the 120-member Knesset parliament and is the second largest party in prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s predominantly right-wing and religious coalition.
In an interview with Israel radio Mr Lieberman left the impression of business as usual. “These reports have been circulating for 15 years . . . I’ve learned to live with them . . . when I go to bed I count to one and drop off,” he said. “We act in the political sphere without any connection to legal events and therefore we are not threatening to create a coalition crisis or topple the government.”
Some analysts believe that Mr Lieberman, with Yisrael Beiteinu strong in the polls, may indeed be looking for the right moment to force new elections.
However, bringing down a right-wing government over a legal indictment may alienate potential voters.
The investigation began five years ago and police recommended indicting Mr Lieberman 1½ years ago. Police officials explained that it took so long to conclude the case due to the difficulty of questioning people abroad and the fact that they had to examine thousands of documents.