Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., May 05, 2008 Nisan 30, 5768 | | Israel Time: 18:51 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Shula Zaken leaving her interrogation at the Fraud Squad headquarters in Bat Yam on Sunday. (Nir Keidar) Last update - 18:31 04/05/2008 Police in Olmert case quiz ex-bureau chief for second time By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: corruption, Shula Zaken  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's former bureau chief and one of his closest associates was questioned Sunday by the fraud squad for the second time in less than a week as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into Olmert. Zaken, who has been placed under house arrest Tuesday, was questioned under caution at the National Unit for Fraud Investigation in Bat Yam as a suspect in the affair. The prime minister was summoned for surprise questioning Friday morning, but in adherence with a court-issued gag order, no details regarding the affair have been released. Zaken was suspended from her position as Olmert's bureau chief some 12 months ago due to suspicions against her in a Tax Authority corruption scandal. The police suspect that she had appointed "yes-men" to senior positions at the authority. Zaken has recently resumed working closely with the prime minister, but as per the recommendation of the attorney general's office, she was not reinstated as Olmert's bureau chief. Advertisement The team investigating the Tax Authority affair recently announced that it has sufficient evidence to indict Zaken on corruption charges. The state prosecution is expected to decide in the near future whether an indictment will be brought against her. Olmert was questioned over the Tax Authority affair at the time, but the police stressed that he was not a suspect in the case. Olmert vowed at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that the investigation would not hinder his goal of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians. He said the latest investigation has unleashed a wave of rumors, most of them malicious and wicked. "When the facts become clear," he said, "they will lay the rumors to rest," he insisted. "In the meantime, I have an agenda as the prime minister of Israel," he said. "I intend to continue with this agenda and continue my job." The investigation is the fifth against Olmert since his government took office exactly two years ago and the latest in a longer string of probes to dog him during his three decades in politics. He has not been charged in the most recent corruption investigations, and has never been convicted of wrongdoing. Still, the corruption probes have hurt his standing, which also has been battered by the inconclusive 2006 war in Lebanon, and ongoing Palestinian rocket and mortar fire at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Opposition lawmakers, coalition partners and even members of his own Kadima party have began to express doubts that he can continue as prime minister. Related articles: Olmert: I'll keep doing my job despite malicious rumors PM's bureau chief suspended amid allegations of bribery Arrest of Olmert's office manager sends his bureau into crisis mode Bookmark to del.icio.us   Under probe Olmert stays focused on work despite new allegations. Taxi Hamas Hamas police cars serve as taxis in fuel-starved Gaza.   1.   House Arrest - Doesn`t Sound Good 16:51  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 04/05/08   2.   olmerts promises 18:44  |  motti 05/05/08

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