Lieber convicted of bribery in Netanyahu submarine scandal

The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday convicted communications and strategy adviser Yitzhak (Tzachi) Lieber of brokering a bribe, money laundering and aiding in the preparation of false accounting records. Judge Shmuel Malmed ruled that Lieber received a total of 93,900 shekels from Miki Ganor, the Israeli representative of ThyssenKrupp, which were intended as bribes for David Sharan, the former director and chief of staff of the Prime Minister's Office.

According to the verdict, Lieber, a close friend of Sharan, received the money in two transfers in 2014 and 2016. The first, 35,400 shekels, was transferred to a company he owned in November 2014. The second, 58,500 shekels, was transferred in August 2016 to a company owned by his business partner.

The court found that the payments were presented as fees for consulting services, but in reality served to transfer bribe money to Sharan while concealing the financial connection through shell companies and false invoices.

Confessions and claims of police pressure

During his police interrogation, Lieber admitted to his role in transferring the funds, but later retracted his confessions. At trial, he claimed the money he received from Ganor was legitimate payment for communications and strategic consulting services he provided.

Lieber further argued that his confessions were obtained through improper pressure from investigators, including violations of his right to consult with a lawyer, the use of arrest and property seizure as leverage, and promises of release if he confessed.

Judge Malmed examined the claims and rejected the defence's request to exclude the confessions. He ruled that they could be relied upon and that they reflected truthful admissions.

The verdict also examined the account of Ganor, who previously served as a state's witness in the case and later retracted his incriminating testimony. The court determined that the confessions of both Lieber and Ganor were supported by additional evidence, including records, documents and communications research.

Money concealed through invoices

Judge Malmed ruled that Lieber served as an intermediary for transferring funds between Ganor and Sharan, and that he was aware of the purpose of the transfers and the need to conceal the connection.

According to the verdict, the transfer of payments through the companies and the issuance of invoices were designed to present the money as legitimate business payments, even though no services justifying them were actually provided.

The court found that this also constituted the elements of money laundering, alongside the offence of aiding in the preparation of false accounting records, which was intended to help Ganor and his company evade tax payments.

Judge: a single criminal affair

Alongside the conviction, the judge rejected the prosecution's position that Lieber should be convicted of separate offences for each of the two payments.

He said that splitting the acts into separate offences was artificial, since they constituted a single continuous factual pattern.

Accordingly, Lieber was convicted of one count of brokering a bribe, one count of performing an action with prohibited property, and one count of aiding in the preparation of false accounting records.

The verdict was delivered after the case was transferred to Judge Malmed following the death of Judge Benny Saguy z"l, who had presided over the hearing of evidence. Judge Malmed clarified that his ruling was based on the evidence and materials submitted during the previous proceedings, without hearing the witnesses again.

This is a separate proceeding from the main indictment in the submarine affair, which is being conducted against Ganor, Sharan and other defendants.