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Photo: Reuters
Israeli navy submarine
Photo: Reuters

Thyssenkrupp looking to scrap Ganor's post

After concluding its internal investigation, the German company entangled in the submarine affair is looking to open direct representation in Israel and do away with local sales representatives following state witness Ganor's bribery allegations.

Thyssenkrupp, a German company embroiled in a large corruption scandal in Israel—which supplies the navy with submarines to protect its natural gas reserves in the Mediterranean—is examining the opening of a direct representation of the company's marine systems division instead of employing a local sales representative, according to information received from informed sources.

 

 

This will, in effect, scrap the position filled by state witness Mickey Ganor. The decision may well be related to the conclusions made by the corporation from the conduct of Ganor, who allegedly bribed senior officials to promote deals with the company and has since turned state witness in the submarine affair, also known as Case 3000.

 

Sources said that the internal investigation at Thyssenkrupp lasted many months, during which dozens of workers were questioned and relevant emails and protocols were combed through.

 

INS Rahav at the Haifa naval base (Photo: AP)
INS Rahav at the Haifa naval base (Photo: AP)

Thyssenkrupp, though, said the results of the investigation are very partial, since there has been no official contact with Ganor since the affair entered the public light due to a limitation related to Israeli law.

 

But Ganor was not the only person absent in Thyssenkrupp's investigation.

 

Former shipyard general manager Walter Freitag, who played a key role in replacing the old representative Shaike Barkat with Mickey Ganor and since retired, refused several times to cooperate with the company's internal investigation.

 

No evidence was found in the investigation of Barkat's claim that he was replaced by Ganor following the demand of elements in Israel. The company's internal investigation noted only Barkat's age and the need for a younger representative to accompany long-term projects as a reason for the change.

 

The internal investigation also revealed that the payments to Ganor were transferred to various companies he owned, which did not cause any suspicion of irregularities at the time.

 

Mickey Ganor (Photo: Orel Cohen)
Mickey Ganor (Photo: Orel Cohen)

 

The investigation also revealed that when Ganor, accompanied by Netanyahu's confidant and personal lawyer David Shimron, came to Thyssenkrupp to negotiate his contract, he was able to change his wage structure so that the commission he would earn from the execution of futures contracts would increase in comparison to the brokerage fee.

 

The company claims that Shimron was then presented as Ganor's personal attorney and not as a party involved in the deal.

 

Thyssenkrupp paid about 11 million euros to Ganor for his work.

 

The final report of the investigation was transferred to the German and Israeli authorities.

 

German authorities have yet to open an investigation into the matter, and officially the German prosecutor has been conducting a preliminary examination for several months.

 

Israeli authorities did not inquire Thyssenkrupp over their investigation or request additional materials.

 

Thyssenkrupp offices in Germany (Photo: EPA)
Thyssenkrupp offices in Germany (Photo: EPA)

 

The 2016 estimated $2 billion deal has been under public scrutiny since it emerged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal lawyer, David Shimron, also represented Thyssenkrup Marine System's local agent, Miki Ganor, raising concerns of a conflict of interest.

 

The police investigation into the deal was reclassified as a criminal investigation in February.

 

Several senior officials have so far been arrested and interrogated in the case—among them Shimron, former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom, former Israeli National Security Council (NSC) senior member Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Avriel Bar-Yosef, and Netanyahu’s former chief of staff David Sharan

 

On Friday, Thyssenkrupp's annual press conference will be held in Essen. It will detail the company's merger with the Indian company Tata Steel, which will make it the second largest steel producer in Europe.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.23.17, 14:49
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