JURIST - Paper Chase: Israel police raid Olmert offices in corruption investigation

[JURIST] Israeli police Monday raided the offices of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [official website] as part of an investigation into allegations that Olmert accepted bribes from an American businessman during his tenures as mayor of Jerusalem and as Israeli Minister of Industry Trade and Labor. The businessman, Morris Talansky, was questioned Monday, but denied wrongdoing [Haaretz report] during an interview on Israeli television. Olmert has also denied the accusations, but has said that he will resign if indicted. CNN has more.

This is not the first time Olmert has been investigated for questionable deals. In April 2007, Olmert was investigated for improperly favoring his supporters [JURIST report] in distributing business grants when he was trade minister in 2001. Olmert has also endured accusations that he promoted the interests of two business associates during the 2005 state sale of Bank Leumi [corporate website]. In January 2007, the Israeli Ministry of Justice announced plans to launch an investigation [JURIST report] into allegations surrounding Olmert's involvement with the sale of Bank Leumi. Throughout the scandals, Olmert has maintained that he has done nothing wrong.

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...