Israeli police said on Thursday they have evidence that a former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ari Harow, illegally advanced his own business interests while holding the position.
He is suspected of bribery, breach of trust, fraud under aggravated circumstances and aggravated money laundering. In addition, his lawyer, Harel Arnon, is also suspected of fraud under aggravated circumstances and aggravated money laundering. The evidence collected has been sent to the State Attorney's Office.
Harrow and Arnon, who handled the alleged sale, were both interrogated under caution .Dozens of other involved persons were questioned, searches were carried out, documents and exhibits were seized, along with property worth millions of shekels.
The State Attorney's Office will now examine the files prepared by the police and made a decision on how to proceed.
The police said in a statement that they have been investigating Harow since mid-2015, shortly after he stepped down as Netanyahu's chief-of-staff. Harow had been appointed the previous year, after leaving his consulting firm 3H Global.
Prior to being made chief-of-staff, Harow had "pledged to sell the company that he owned and not to engage in matters relating to it," the statement said.
The investigation, however, found that Harow only appeared to have sold the company through "misrepresentation" and that he "continued to hold, enjoy its profits and promote its interests" while in the job, the police said.
The police said they were handing their findings over to the State Attorney's office, which could lead to charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust.