Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is in the eye of the storm as the Israeli Attorney General is on the verge of charging her for allegedly diverting around $112,000 public funds and for other offences
The prosecution also accuses her of receiving goods under false pretences, falsifying documents and breaching trust, local reports say.
Sara is targeted in a case concerning the employment of an electrician who is known as member of the central committee of her husband’s Likud party. A committee in charge of overseeing residence expenditures ruled against the hiring but the Netanyahus went ahead.
The prosecution also suspects that Sara used state funds to buy furniture for the couple’s private house in Caesarea.
The furniture was apparently bought for the official residence in Jerusalem and then moved to the private residence, while older furniture was taken back from Caesarea to the residence in Jerusalem, Times of Israel reports.
Sara who made the headlines last year for maltreating a house aid also allegedly used state funds to pay the medical care of her late father.
The wife of the Prime Minister has denied any wrong doing and her lawyer has slammed the charges calling them “ridiculous”.
The couple has been accused of lavish life style both at the official residence in Jerusalem and in Caesarea. Already in 2015, state Comptroller Yosef Shapira raised concerns over the Netanyahu’s spending.
The Netanyahu family has been marred in scandals. The Prime Minister himself has been cited in two corruption investigation cases dubbed “Case 1000,” and “Case 2000”.
In Case 1000, Benjamin and Sara improperly received lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, Police noted.
In Case 2000, the Israeli Prime Minister is accused of trying to corrupt a local journalist for a more favorable coverage.
The Israeli leader has rejected the accusations, which sparked heated debates within the Likud over demand by some members of the party for Netanyahu’s resignation.
