16 members of Lieberman’s party to be charged with graft

Officials from Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s party are to be charged as part of “one of the largest public corruption investigations in Israel,” involving alleged crimes committed between 2009 and 2014, the attorney general said.

Lieberman is not among the 16 people from his Yisrael Beitenu party who are facing charges, including one official who is accused of drug offences.

Former deputy interior minister and Yisrael Beitenu secretary general Faina Kirshenbaum along with former tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov are to be charged with bribery, fraud and tax offences, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s office said in a statement.

Misezhnikov is also facing charges of possessing cocaine in Israel and abroad.