Hebrew daily "Yediot Ahronot" reports that the public outcry over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expenses has reached the State Comptroller. This week, State Comptroller Joseph Shapira will consult top officials from his office to examine whether government money has been misused.
Last week, Shapira requested clarifications from the Prime Minister's Bureau about the "flying bed" affair. The scandal emerged when it was revealed that NIS 500,000 had been spent to install a bed in the plane which carried Netanyahu and his wife to Margaret Thatcher's funeral in the UK.
Shapira also intends to examine the background of the trip to China by Netanyahu's chauffeur as part of the prime minister's entourage. The reason for the probe is that the chauffeur was not included in the list of administrative personnel who accompanied the Netanyahu family abroad, raising suspicion that the chauffer's trip was a benefit.
This is not the start of an official investigation into the prime minister's expenses, but a meeting of the Office of State Comptroller officials to examine the relevant aspects. Legal sources believe that Shapira will examine whether and how the Netanyahu family's private expenses were separated from public expenses.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 19, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013