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Last update - 17:06 29/05/2008 Attorney General decides to expedite probe against Olmert By Jonathan Lis and Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: Morris Talansky, Israel  The investigation currently underway against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will focus on key witness Morris Talansky, and will be expedited in efforts to determine whether or not an indictment will be filed, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided Wednesday. Olmert is suspected of having illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky, a Jewish American businessman, over the course of 15 years. Advertisement During deliberations Wednesday, Mazuz was presented with an overview of the investigation, and it was decided to separate Talansky's testimony from other pending corruption charges against Olmert. Various opinions were presented regarding the investigation in light of Talansky's preliminary testimony, which he gave Tuesday. At a meeting at the State Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday, Mazuz said that he intends to put together a work plan to speed up the case and determine whether or not the prime minister will be charged. Money laundering appears to be the key charge the police fraud squad is looking at in the investigation against the prime minister, sources close to the investigation say. They say a conviction on this charge would also produce a conviction for fraud and breach of trust because of Olmert's status as a public official. The police are also seeking to establish a basis for a bribery charge based on the timing of money Talansky said he gave Olmert and alleged steps Olmert took to further Talansky's business interests. The police are seeking this even though sources close to the investigation have said that it is "unclear whether Talansky himself had the intention of receiving something in exchange for the money he gave Olmert over the years." The police and the State Prosecutor's Office have said over the past few days that they have significant evidence against Olmert that has not yet been made public. "In the coming days we'll hear a lot of spins about Talansky's testimony and attempts by the various lawyers to discover cracks in it," a law-enforcement source told Haaretz. "It is important to understand that these claims have almost no importance: Olmert admitted taking the cash, the money was never reported or documented. That in itself is enough to make an indictment stick." The investigation team is expected to pass on evidence that Olmert broke the law against money laundering, the maximum sentence for which is 10 years in prison. The material collected so far includes Olmert's self-incriminating testimony that he had accepted cash from Talansky for years. Other evidence strengthens the suspicion that Olmert neither documented nor reported receiving the money. Section 3b of the anti-money-laundering law is intended to make it easier for investigators to collect evidence to prove this offense: The clause does not relate to offenses for which the money was used. Instead, it says a person has broken the law if he or she "takes action in terms of property, or provides false information with the intent that no report be made ... or of causing an incorrect report to be made." Talansky, the sources said, acted out of Zionist motives and out of blind admiration for Olmert. Nevertheless, the police and prosecution claim that there is a suspiciously close link regarding timing that could show that Olmert was given a bribe and provided something for it between October and November 2005. This timing closely links a number of Talansky's most significant contributions to Olmert and Olmert's attempts to help Talansky: On October 25, Talansky allegedly paid for a suite at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington for Olmert at a cost of more than $4,000. Three weeks later, on November 17, Olmert connected Talansky with hotel moguls Yitzhak Tshuva and Sheldon Adelson in the hope that they would by thousands of minibars from a company Talansky owned. Six days later, Talansky gave Olmert a $50,000 loan that was never repaid. The police and prosecution do not intend at this stage to charge Olmert with breaking the law on party funding. But a source said that "since the investigation is at its height, it would not be responsible to declare exactly what other offenses the evidence could be translated into." Related articles: Olmert to Kadima: Give me time to prove my innocence News / MKs from across political spectrum call on Olmert to resign In Argentina it wouldn't faze anyone Bookmark to del.icio.us   His Majesty's envoy Report: Bahraini king taps Jewish woman lawmaker as envoy to U.S. Light unto the nations After five months of suspense, the hoopoe is crowned Israel's state bird.   1.   tight 17:29  |  eli 29/05/08   2.   where is my 4000$ ? 18:41  |  ELLIOT SPITZER 29/05/08   3.   he is not guilty ... 18:42  |  Immelda marcos. 29/05/08   4.   Indict Olmert Already, No Need for A Soap Opera To Play Out 18:50  |  Dish It Out 29/05/08   5.   Who can issue an indictment? 19:37  |  Michael Hessler 29/05/08   6.   Calls for professional analysis... 19:54  |  Esther 29/05/08   7.   Mazuz is stalling 19:57  |  Rabbi Yakov Lazaros 29/05/08   8.   Giving lessons 20:33  |  François 29/05/08   9.   Esther, maybe they had the romance ... 21:31  |  Elton John 29/05/08   10.   The gentle Mazuz... 21:34  |  Esther 29/05/08   11.   Oh Elton #9....how could you...? 21:45  |  Esther 29/05/08   12.   #5 - Did you read the article? Mazuz will issue an indictement!! 23:01  |  redmike 29/05/08   13.   #7 - the article says the opposite. Indictment, hours or days! 23:02  |  redmike 29/05/08   14.   #10 - you seemingly know little about law or democracy .. 23:08  |  redmike 29/05/08   15.   New Elections 23:09  |  Rabbi Yakov Lazaros 29/05/08   16.   Olmert is running the country like a crime boss 13:17  |  Sam Popack 30/05/08

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