Comptroller investigating $320,000 contribution from foreign donors.
By DAN IZENBERG
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is investigating the propriety of a contribution of $320,000 from foreign donors to Shimon Peres in December 2004 for his race for leadership of the Labor Party which was originally set to take place the following month, according to report broadcast by Channel 10 television on Saturday.
In response to the report, the State Comptroller's spokeswoman, Shlomit Lavie, told The Jerusalem Post that the matter was being examined and that the Comptroller had not yet come to any conclusions about it.
Lavie said the investigation of Peres was part of the overall investigation by the State Comptroller's Office of all of the primary campaigns that have been and have yet to be held before the general election scheduled for March 28.
She added that the members of the State Comptroller's Office in charge of the primaries investigations have already met once with Peres aides to discuss the contributions, and are due to hold a second meeting in the next few days.
According to the Political Parties Law, candidates for the leadership of a political party may receive contributions of up to NIS 40,000 per family in the nine months before the primary election. There are no limits on contributions to individual politicians before the nine-month period.
According to reports, Lindenstrauss intends to deal severely with primary funding violations in the report he intends to issue.