Israel: Corruption watchdog wants antitrust probe of Netanyahu

On Wednesday a corruption watchdog petitioned the High Court of Justice to order a probe into whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Times of Israel reported. The charges are he colluded with the publisher of Israel’s most widely circulated paid newspaper and thus broke antitrust laws.

In what is not being called Case 2000, the police launched an investigation, after uncovering audio recordings from 2014 that suggested that Netanyahu had promised Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes that he would hamstring the rival free Israel Hayom newspaper in return for Yedioth guaranteeing him more favorable coverage.

Antitrust Authority Commissioner Michal Halperin and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel asked the court for an injunction to prevent charges being brought in the case until a decision on ordering an antitrust probe had been made, the business daily The Marker reported.

“The Antitrust Authority is responsible for ensuring competition in the economy, but was not involved in the investigation, in spite of public criticism and even though police had cooperated with the Antitrust Authority in the past,” the petition said.

Full Content: Times of Israel

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