27 Apr 2023; MEMO: Benjamin Netanyahu repaid the $270,000 yesterday which he is said to have received illegally from his late cousin Nathan Milikowsky. The Israeli prime minister made the payment having been ordered to do so by the High Court of Justice last October.
According to Haaretz, the High Court ruled that the money, intended for legal defence costs for Netanyahu and his wife, was given to the former prime minister because he is a public official. As a result, the court said, it was against Israel's gift laws.
Although Netanyahu and Milikowsky were cousins, the court ruled that Netanyahu could not receive such large amounts of money from his relative because their relationship was commercial at the time. The funds were greater than what an acceptable gift from a family member would be.
The court also ordered Netanyahu to repay the $566,000 loan he received from real estate tycoon Spencer Partrich in instalments. Judges ruled that the loan was a prohibited gift and that it could be repaid according to their agreement, under the supervision of the state comptroller.
However, last month, Israel's far-right occupation government approved a bill which, if it becomes law, will enable Netanyahu to keep the money that he received from Milikowsky. Despite an objection by the attorney general and watchdogs condemning the move as "political corruption", the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the bill that will allow public officials to accept donations to cover legal or medical costs.
Omer Makayes, director of the Anti-Corruption Movement watchdog, told the Times of Israel that the bill is "personally tailored" to help Netanyahu and will open doors to further "corruption". The bill, he added, "has no checks and balances" and "is not positive at all." Makayes added that his organisation was weighing its options for petitioning the High Court against the bill, as it has yet to pass through the Knesset.
Netanyahu has been facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust since 2020. He denies all of the allegations against him.
