Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair, 27, has also been named as a suspect in the Case 4000 bribery investigation that has now encompassed nearly the entire family, according to a report citing unnamed police sources, broadcast Thursday evening by Israel’s Channel 10 television news.
The prime minister’s wife Sara was named as a suspect in the probe on Thursday earlier in the day as well.
The case involves the question of whether Shaul Elovitch, the owner of Bezeq and Walla! News, was bribed by the prime minister and/or anyone else to provide positive coverage on his behalf.
“We found a positive story about our dog Kaya on Walla!,” the Netanyahu family said in an ascerbic statement responding to the accusation on Thursday night, calling the charge “absurd.” “Luckily for Kaya, she left this world before she too could be accused of bribery.”
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the Jewish high holy day season, that is, by the start of October.
Police are expected to send their recommendations to the State Prosecutor’s Office within the next six months, according to the report.