Olmert aide summoned in Rishon affair

Rachel Raz-Risbi suspected of grand larceny, fraud, breach of faith, and false entry in corporate docs.

By DAN IZENBERG
olmert 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
olmert 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Jerusalem District Attorney Eli Abarbanel announced on Monday that the state is considering charging a third suspect in the Rishon Tours affair pending a hearing which she has been offered. A Justice Ministry spokesperson said Rachael Risby-Raz, who was Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's foreign liaison at the Jerusalem Municipality and the Industry, Trade, and Labor Ministry, is suspected of committing grand larceny in aggravated circumstances, fraud and breach of faith and false entry in corporate documents. Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz has already informed Olmert and his bureau chief, Shula Zaken, that he is considering indicting them on charges related to the same affair, also pending a hearing. Olmert is accused of charging the full price of airplane tickets to non-profit organizations on whose behalf he had agreed to speak with potential donors abroad. The extra money from these trips was allegedly placed in a secret account handled by the Rishon Tours travel agency and used by Olmert to pay for air fare for private trips by his family. The state prosecution suspects that Risby-Raz took part in these fraudulent acts. It informed her lawyer of these suspicions and said it would provide the key investigative material and a document listing in detail the allegations against Risby-Raz so that she can prepare for the hearing. Meanwhile, Mazuz asked Olmert's lawyer, Eli Zohar, to meet and set a date for the prime minister's hearing on the allegations concerning Rishon Tours. Last week, Zohar received the investigative material to prepare for the hearing.