Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Suspended Tax Authority Director Jackie Matza
Photo: Tomer Applebaum
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
testified Tuesday before police investigators in the Tax Authority scandal that embroiled his suspended top aide Shula Zaken and Tax Authority Director Jackie Matza.
Investigators asked Olmert about Matza's appointment as Tax Authority Director during his tenure as Finance Minister under former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Matza and Zaken are linked to the illegal appointment of tax authority figures to sensitive posts in compliance with demands by businessmen seeking tax alleviations.
Investigators questioned Olmert for four hours in his Jerusalem home.
Olmert's office said in a statement that there are no suspicions against the prime minister, but his testimony was crucial to the progress of the investigation.
A number of Tax Authority officials were arrested in the beginning of the year when the scandal broke out.