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Last update - 03:41 28/05/2008 Analysis / Olmert's sea of cash By Ze'ev Segal Tags: Olmert Morris Talansky's testimony before three district court judges yesterday, if not refuted, sinks the prime minister into a sea of cash overflowing with favors of various kinds. Receiving cash in envelopes in and of itself is not a criminal offense, but it does not emit a good odor. The question is whether the receipt of dollars, in Israel and abroad, reeks of a criminal offense, or whether it only reeks powerfully of unethical behavior by a minister in Israel. Talansky's statements about giving and loaning money to Ehud Olmert for personal needs when he was a minister is very problematic for the prime minister. This was not a gift of money to finance election campaigns, but to finance family vacations and other matters that have "nothing to do with primaries," as Talansky put it. Advertisement For a minister to receive money and favors violates the Asher Committee rules, which were adopted by the cabinet in the early 1970s. These rules, which were revised by the cabinet in 2003, prohibit a minister from receiving money or favors, including pledges and loan guarantees. In any case, the rules require the receipt of money from any source to be reported to the state comptroller. In 2000, in the case of former president Ezer Weizman, then state prosecutor Edna Arbel made it clear that "part of a minister's fiduciary duty expresses itself in the fact that he must avoid proximity to the tables of business people, and there are clear rules that prohibit the receipt of wages or favors." Then attorney general Elyakim Rubinstein wrote at the time that there might be cases in which breaking these rules, which were promulgated to prevent conflicts of interest, would be considered a criminal act - specifically, fraud and breach of trust, which carry a maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment. The question of whether to file an indictment in such a case depends on whether the facts can be proven and whether they indicate corruption. The trend has been toward indictment in serious cases ever since Shimon Sheves, a former director general of the Prime Minister's Office, was convicted of this offense. The circumstances in the Olmert case, as described by Talansky, also raise the possibility that the Public Service Law (Gifts) was broken. This law prohibits a public servant from receiving a gift or favor that is not "of minor value and reasonable." A 1994 High Court of Justice ruling stated that the receipt of a favor, even one whose monetary value is small, raises suspicions that undermine people's trust in public servants. The prosecution will be studying the significance of Talansky's testimony in order to determine which (if any) criminal offenses arise from it. On the face of it, this testimony creates the possibility of an indictment for breach of trust, receipt of a prohibited gift, money laundering and tax evasion. To prove bribery, there must be evidence that the gift was in exchange for something that the public servant did, whether at the time or in the future, that involved making use of his position. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Scuba SMS Ultrasonic sound wave technology revolutionizes underwater communication. 'Hip-hop violinist' Israeli violinist participates in New York event, celebrating Israel's 60th anniversary.

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