Sharon's son ordered to hand over 'bribe' tapes
Israel’s Supreme Court today ordered Ariel Sharon’s son to hand over tapes and documents in two corruption cases, including one that allegedly also involves the prime minister.
The decision came a day after Israel’s chief prosecutor recommended that the elder Sharon and his son be indicted in the so-called “Greek Island Affair”, in which a property developer allegedly paid the Sharon family hundreds of thousands of pounds in exchange for help in promoting a tourism project.
However, the final decision on whether to indict Sharon for bribe-taking is up to Israel’s attorney general who is expected to rule within a month.
Sharon’s son, Gilad, refused for months to hand over documents to police investigators.
Today, the Supreme Court in Jerusalem turned down his appeal against a lower court ruling ordering him to hand over the material.
Gilad Sharon’s lawyer, Micha Fettman, said his client would comply, but suggested it might take time to obtain the documents. He said Gilad Sharon would have to get the documents requested by the court from third parties.
At issue in the “Greek Island Affair” is an attempt by property developer David Appel to promote a tourism project on a Greek island in 1999, at a time when Sharon was foreign minister. Appel hired Gilad Sharon as an adviser and allegedly paid him hundreds of thousands of pounds.
At the time, investigators were wiretapping Appel, the Haaretz daily said today. According to one tape, Appel told the elder Sharon in one conversation that “your son is going to earn a lot of money,” the Haaretz daily reported.
At a later point in the conversation, Sharon said: “The island is in our hands.”
Haaretz said Sharon’s statement was one of the pieces of evidence that persuaded state attorney Edna Arbel to recommend an indictment.
Opposition lawmakers have called on Sharon to resign in light of the state attorney’s recommendation. Infrastructure Minister Josef Paritzky said that Sharon must resign if an indictment is issued, or his Shinui Party will withdraw from the coalition.
