Sharon's Son Questioned Over Illegal Funding for Party Primaries

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 04, 2002

Sharon's Son Questioned Over Illegal Funding for Party Primaries

Omri Sharon, son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was questioned on Sunday by the police over alleged funding irregularities during the prime minister's Likud party primary campaign.

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Omri Sharon, son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was questioned on Sunday by the police over alleged funding irregularities during the prime minister's Likud party primary campaign.

Omri, who is suspected of involvement in operating straw companies to raise and spend money for his father's 1999 Likud primary campaign, maintained his right to remain silent during the interrogation.

Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein instructed the police to open the investigation following the publication of the State Comptroller's report on party funding last September.

In the report, State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg said that Sharon had gathered 5.9 million shekels (about 1.28 million U.S. dollars) in illegal funding during the 1999 Likud primary campaign and the 2001 special prime ministerial elections with his Omri's help.

During the initial investigation, Omri, who was in charge of the campaign and handled all contacts on his father's behalf, decided not to answer most of Goldberg's questions, lest he incriminate himself.

Uri Shani, director of the Prime Minister's Bureau who was Likud director-general at the time of the primaries, was questioned by the police fraud squad last month.

Sharon has said he would return the money and had started the process.

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