Netanyahu son ‘took lavish gifts’
ISRAEL: Israeli police are investigating reports that the prime minister’s son received expensive gifts from Australian billionaire James Packer, who is believed to be seeking permanent residency in Israel.
Packer flew Yair Netanyahu, who is 25, to New York last year and paid for him to stay in a pricey Greenwich Village hotel, according to Israel’s Channel 10.
The eldest son of Benjamin Netanyahu took other holidays on the Australian mogul’s private jet, Channel 10 said, and received free tickets to a Mariah Carey concert near Tel Aviv last year. The pop star is Packer’s former fiancee.
Packer, 49, is the scion of one of Australia’s wealthiest families, with extensive holdings in both media operations and casinos. He is not Jewish, and it is unclear why he wants to move to Israel.
One possible motive is financial: a 2008 law exempts new immigrants from paying tax on their foreign assets for ten years. The law turned Israel into a popular tax haven for wealthy Jews.
The French authorities estimated in 2013 that businessmen had transferred up to US$5 billion (NZ$7B) to Israel to avoid the taxman in Paris.
Aryeh Deri, the interior minister, said that he had not received a formal residency request from Packer, but he confirmed the Australian had made a preliminary application to the Israeli tax agency, a prerequisite to applying for a residency permit.
Packer joined the Netanyahus at the United Nations general assembly last year. A photograph broadcast on Channel 10 showed him sitting with the prime minister, his son, and Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the US.
A spokesman for Packer told Haaretz newspaper that Yair Netanyahu has the right to be hosted by friends.
A spokesman for the prime minister said that Yair Netanyahu is a private citizen.
Police already investigating corruption scandals involving the prime minister and his family. Earlier this year he was accused of receiving an illegal donation from Arnaud Mimran, a French financier convicted running multibillioneuro carbontrading fraud.
Netanyahu has denied the allegation.
Netanyahu and his wife are under investigation for taking illicit money to fund their foreign travel, and inappropriately using state money at their official residence, both allegations they deny.
Last month, the attorneygeneral ordered an inquiry into David Shimron, the prime minister’s personal lawyer.
Shimron also represents Thyssenkrupp, the German conglomerate that manufactures the submarines used by the Israeli navy. Shimron has welcomed the investigation, saying ‘‘there was nothing irregular in my actions.’’ The Times are of a