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Last update - 15:37 01/08/2008
Olmert questioned by police for fourth time in graft probe
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel, Olmertours 

Police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert under caution Friday morning at his Jerusalem home, his fourth interrogation in connection with an evolving graft investigation in recent months.

The questioning began at 10 A.M. and was scheduled to end at 12 P.M. but lasted an additional hour upon Olmert's request for more time. The interrogation allegedly dealt mostly with Rishon Tours, Olmert's travel agency and less with the "cash envelopes" case. The questioning reportedly took place in a calm environment.

Law enforcement officials say that within a few weeks, investigators will be done with two cases: Olmert's alleged double-billing of sponsors for overseas trips, and the "cash envelopes" case, involving possibly unlawful use of funds raised by American businessman Morris Talansky. It remains unclear whether Olmert will need to be questioned about those cases after Friday.
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However, the national fraud unit chief, Shlomi Ayalon, has already contacted Olmert's lawyers to schedule an additional interrogation session, evidently in connection with the other financial scandals for which Olmert is being investigated.

The police and State Prosecutor's Office sought on Thursday to keep a lower profile, after several days of calm in the mutual smear-fest surrounding Olmert's allegations of deliberate press leaks from the investigation.

Informed sources said before the questioning that investigators might confront Olmert this morning with a series of documents they have collected, particularly in the double-billing affair. These include office records personally signed by Olmert, in which he gives his bureau staff the go-ahead to charge twice for flights, then use the surplus to pay for dozens of flights for his family, mainly when he served as industry and trade minister.

Other law enforcement sources said on Thursday that the police might actually choose to confront Olmert with matters pertaining to cases for which he is unprepared, a tactic used in his previous interrogations.

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