State Witness in submarines deal affair arrested after changing testimony

Might Case 3000 be in jeopardy?

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
MIKI GANOR, ThyssenKrupp’s representative in Israel, waits at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
MIKI GANOR, ThyssenKrupp’s representative in Israel, waits at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
Police said late on Tuesday that they may scrap their state’s witness and immunity agreement with Miki Ganor, the former sales representative of Thyssenkrupp Israel, in Case 3000, also known as the “Submarines Affair.”
Ganor was arrested late Tuesday night. He will be brought in front of a judge on Wednesday morning.
Police will ask to extend his arrest in accordance with the investigation’s needs.
Ganor has admitted to having a major role in perpetrating a bribery and fraud scheme in which he and top officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in the defense establishment skimmed money off the top of a government deal to buy nuclear submarines from the German company.
The police announcement appeared to come out of nowhere regarding an immunity deal and massive cooperation by Ganor dating back to July 2017.
Ganor’s cooperation was critical in the case against the around half-dozen top officials, which led to police recommendations for bribery and other charges in November 2018.
According to the press release, Ganor came to the police on Tuesday and suddenly said he wanted to change his narrative in the case. This led the police to question him under caution for a new potential set of crimes and may lead them to dropping his immunity deal.
It is unknown at this time why Ganor had a change of heart or if the developments are related to the new possible connections between Netanyahu and Case 3000, which Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit recently started to review.
The Jerusalem Post has learned that even if Ganor changes his narrative, the state prosecution may legally have the right to use his narrative given to date against the other suspects at trial.
Likewise, the Post has learned that the prosecution has a large volume of external documentary and other evidence that supports Ganor’s narrative to date, even if he tries to change it.
Finally, the Post has learned that the Attorney-General’s Office’s initial understanding of Ganor’s changed decision is that it has nothing to do with Netanyahu.
While the timing is extraordinary, the attorney-general seems to view this development as a coincidence.