Last update - 00:00 02/09/2007
Police recommend indicting ex-finance minister for fraud, theft
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Police has recommended that former Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson be indicted on charges of embezzling money from a workers union he headed in 2003, police said in a statement Sunday.
Hirschson may face charges over crimes allegedly committed while he served as the chairman of the National Workers' Organization and after the end of his term. The investigators have uncovered sufficient evidence to indict the Kadima member for breach of trust, aggravated fraud, theft and money laundering.
The findings of a joint police-Tax Authority investigation against Hirchson have been handed over to State Prosecutor Eran Shendar for perusal. The suspicions against Hirchson focus primarily on funds allegedly embezzled from Nili, a non-profit organization associated with the Histadrut national labor federation, and from the National Worker's Organization. The findings are to serve as the basis for the State Prosecution's indictment against the former minister.
The police questioned Hirchson five times over recent months. The police concluded its investigation of the affair on Sunday.
Police suspect that Hirchson used some of the NIS 5.65 million allegedly embezzled from Nili to finance political activity in the Likud party, of which Hirchson was a member before joining Kadima.
Hirchson resigned from the Finance Ministry in July because of the investigation.