Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced Thursday evening that he won’t be prosecuting Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on the major charges against him, in the open investigations that has hung like a Sword of Damocles over Liberman’s head for years.
The reason was due to lack of hard evidence, as well as a key witness who is no longer able to remember certain pieces of evidence.
The major charges involved obstruction of justice and money laundering of millions of shekels via foreign shell companies.
Only one charge remains open, a relatively minor one of breach of trust and fraud involving his receipt of a classified document from former ambassador to Belarus, Ze’ev Ben-Aryeh, in 2008. That document discussed the police investigation about Liberman. The claim is that Liberman’s then attempted to reward Ben-Aryeh for the document by trying to get him an ambassadorship to Riga.
Liberman’s lawyers do not believe the remaining charge is serious enough to require Liberman to resign as a minister, or to not run in the upcoming elections.
PM Netanyahu congratulated Liberman on the news, and said he hoped to hear that the would be proved innocent on the last charge too.
Liberman said in response to the news on Thursday evening, that the only factors that will affect his decision will be the legal recommendations of his lawyers and whether or not the remaining charge will affect his party negatively in the elections.
It’s unlikely he’ll step down.
