Frenchman on trial for fraud: Netanyahu received €1m to fund election

Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit ordered an investigation into revelations that a wealthy French businessman gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about €1 million.

During his trial for fraud in France, Arnaud Mimran said he’d given the money in campaign contributions to Netanyahu in 2001, when the Israeli leader was not in public office. He added that he had given €1 million in campaign contributions to Netanyahu.

However, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 10, Mimran claimed that the amount given was one million francs, not euros, which at the time was worth about €170,000.

“First of all, I never said million euros, I said a ‘million’,” said Mimran. “That was in 2001, and my intention was to say one million francs, which equalled €170,000.”

“I made the transfer from my personal account to his personal account,” he said. “I think it was €170,000, but the sum was registered officially and it’s possible to confirm it.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office asserted that Netanyahu received money from Mimran, adding that the funds were not a prohibited donation, as they were transferred to Netanyahu at a time when he was a private citizen and held no political or public position.

Netanyahu acknowledged earlier in the day that he had received contributions from the French tycoon but said they were not political and were used for promoting Israel.