Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested to be allowed, under conflict of interest rules, to make changes in his personal investment portfolio, but then backtracked.
The committee for granting permits at the State Comptroller's Office has approved a request by the prime minister to change his investment portfolio in Israel and overseas, in addition to changes made at the start of his term in 2009. The permission was given on August 15.
"It seems to us that in view of the drastic changes in the global economy, as well as the frequent and major economic changes affecting investments in Israel, there is a need to allow additional instructions to the trustee of the blind trust in a manner that the government shall decide," the committee stated in its decision.
The committee added, "It seems to us that this amendment is necessitated by reality. The decision was taken with the agreement of the State Comptroller."
On October 10, the cabinet will convene to approve Netanyahu's request to change his investment portfolio, after which the committee for granting permits will meet again to approve the request.
Two days after receiving the decision of the committee for granting permits, Netanyahu withdrew his request, partly due to concerns that it would be interpreted incorrectly by the public because of the timing. Netanyahu's request stands out at this time, given the unceasing threats by him and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak to attack Iran's nuclear facilities within months. Former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz sold his investment portfolio on the day the Second Lebanon War broke out in the summer of 2006, and was harshly criticized in public for the sale.
The State Comptroller's Office said, "The decision, as is the usual practice, appears on the State Comptroller's Office's website among the rules for preventing conflict of interests."
The Prime Minister's Office Bureau said in response, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made no changes in his blind trust, even though the advisory committee to the State Comptroller recommended that the prime minister and government ministers should be allowed to make such changes subject to a cabinet decision. The prime minister notified the State Comptroller in writing that he had decided not to go forward on this matter in order to prevent the possibility of incorrect interpretations. In his letter to the State Comptroller, Mr. Netanyahu decided not to make any changes to the current procedure during the term of the present government."
The prevention of conflict of interests rules for ministers and deputy ministers also apply to the prime minister. The rules restrict the prime minister's ability to manage his financial affairs. Among other things, the rules ban the prime minister and ministers from holding money (deposits of various kinds) in excess of NIS 200,000 in Israeli or foreign currency, or bonds, or any kind of investment (except for savings plans, advanced training funds, and provident funds), including securities, other than by means of a blind trust, and that within 60 days of taking office, the prime minister or minister must transfer all securities and bonds to an independent public trust company.
The deed of trust between the minister and the trust company must be sent to the attorney general for approval, and the minister must send an approved copy of the deed of trust, with a list of the securities transferred to the trust company appended, to the State Comptroller.
The rules also state that the prime minister or minister, and members of their families, shall not give the trust company any instructions about which securities to hold, sell, or buy, except for a single instruction at the start of the term of office about the kind of investment that will be included in the portfolio, and the maximum amount of each kind of investment as proportion of the portfolio as a whole, or an instruction that the proportions will be at the discretion of the trust company.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 27, 2012
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