Sydney Report Traces Funds to PM's Counsel

The wire transfers began in late September 2024.

A report published on Monday by The Sydney Morning Herald states that the law firm defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received at least $1.25 million from Australian billionaire James Packer. The funds moved in monthly installments of $50,000 over a two-year period. The paper identifies the source as a Citibank account belonging to Consolidated Press International, Packer's company. The money landed in an account at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot held by Hadad Roth Shenhar, a Tel Aviv law firm. The report has not yet been independently confirmed.

Packer did not deny the payments when the newspaper approached him. A source familiar with Packer's financial affairs told the Herald that the transfers covered work Packer carried out, such as identifying investment deals in Israel. The source claimed the money had no connection to the prime minister's criminal trial. The Herald requested evidence of those deals or work performed by the firm. Neither Packer nor his company had replied by the time of publication. Amit Hadad, Netanyahu's defense attorney, did not answer the newspaper's questions. He also refused to address the matter while standing before the Jerusalem District Court, where evidentiary hearings are currently taking place.

A spokesman for Netanyahu responded to the report with a blunt dismissal. "I couldn't give a monkey's about your questions. We are very busy. We have an election on right now," the spokesman said. The timing places the disclosure on the eve of Israeli elections, while Netanyahu's trial remains active.

Packer's name appears in Case 1000 of the trial. Prosecutors accuse Netanyahu of accepting gifts from Packer and businessman Arnon Milchan. The charges include fraud and breach of trust. Packer is not a defendant in the case. The indictment describes the gifts as a regular "supply line" that continued after requests and demands were made. The alleged interventions involved Milchan's US visa, tax benefits for returning residents, and regulatory issues tied to investment in Israeli television.

According to the indictment, gifts to Netanyahu and his wife totaled about NIS 690,000. The portion attributed to Packer amounts to NIS 229,174. That sum includes NIS 145,577 in cigars and NIS 83,597 in champagne. The allegations involving Packer cover the years 2014 to 2016. Hadas Klein, who worked for both Packer and Milchan, served as a key prosecution witness regarding the delivery of those gifts.

Netanyahu's trial began in May 2020. It covers three cases involving alleged dealings with media owners. He faces fraud and breach-of-trust charges in all three, along with a bribery charge in Case 4000. Case 4000 concerns alleged regulatory benefits for Bezeq in exchange for intervention in coverage by the news site Walla. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing.