Three days before the election for President of the State of Israel, MK Binyamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer announced today that he was withdrawing his candidacy. Ben-Eliezer was officially sponsored by the Labor Party, and was considered to stand a chance of wining the vote in the Knesset.
Ben-Eliezer's withdrawal follows the opening of an investigation at the order of the Attorney General into allegations that Ben-Eliezer received millions of shekels from various parties, among them businessman Avraham Nanikashvili. Ben-Eliezer is also suspected of failing to report these allegedly illegally received sums to the Tax Authority. Ben-Eliezer acknowledges receiving money from Nanikashvili, but claims that this was a loan that he has not yet repaid.
In his announcement today, Ben-Eliezer said, "It seems that I have been the object of a targeted assassination. From the moment that I announced my candidacy for the post, there has been an unceasing, aggressive and orchestrated campaign of smears and innuendoes against me, a campaign that had the sole aim of preventing me from standing for the presidency and serving as president of the country. With a very heavy heart, I have made the decision to withdraw from the election."
Nanikashvili is one of the controlling shareholders in Shemen Oil and Gas Resources Ltd. (TASE: SOG), and is under investigation in the corruption probe at Ashdod Port.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 7, 2014
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