David Appel is accused of bribing public officials. Alan Dershowitz has joined the legal defense team.
The Tel Aviv district attorney’s office is expected to present a revised indictment against David Appel to the Magistrates Court today in the Greek island affair.
Appel is accused of bribing senior public officials, mostly in the Israel Land Authority (ILA) and Knesset members. He is also suspected of bribing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Ehud Olmert. The indictment alleges that he bribed ILA and local authorities officials in order to wind land tenders and vacate and build projects, and bribed Knesset members to further his personal interests.
In the Greek island affair, the investigation of which has not been concluded, Appel is suspected of helping to finance Sharon and Olmert’s primary campaigns in exchange for sponsorship for hosting senior Greek officials, in an effort to assist a large project that Appel was promoting. He is also suspected of employing Gilad Sharon, the prime minister’s son, as a consultant on the project, and paying him $3 million, without obtaining any real consultancy services.
Government legal sources said that the cases against Appel were the most substantial in recent years. Prof. Alan Dershowitz has joined Appel’s legal defense team.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 21, 2004