Consultant Convicted of Bribery Mediation in Submarine Affair

A Tel Aviv District Court has convicted media and strategy consultant Yitzhak (Tzachi) Liber of mediating bribery, money laundering, and aiding in the preparation of false accounting records. Judge Shmuel Melamed ruled that Liber received a total of 93,900 shekels from Miki Ganor, the Israeli representative for the ThyssenKrupp corporation. These funds were intended to be passed as a bribe to David Sharann, former director of the Prime Minister's Office and Chief of Staff.

According to the verdict, Liber, a close friend of Sharann, received the money in two transfers in 2014 and 2016. The first transfer, for 35,400 shekels, went to a company owned by Liber in November 2014. The second, for 58,500 shekels, was transferred in August 2016 to a company owned by his partner. The court determined that these payments were disguised as compensation for consulting services but were actually intended to funnel bribe money to Sharann, with the financial connection concealed through shell companies and false invoices.

During his police investigation, Liber initially confessed to his involvement in transferring the funds but later retracted his statements. In court, he argued that the money from Ganor was legitimate payment for media and strategic consulting services. Liber also claimed his confessions were obtained under duress, including denial of access to legal counsel, use of arrest and asset seizure as pressure tactics, and promises of release if he confessed.

Judge Melamed rejected the defense's request to disqualify the confessions, finding them to be truthful admissions. The court also examined the testimony of Ganor, who had previously been a state witness in the affair but later recanted his incriminating statements. The judge concluded that Liber's and Ganor's confessions were corroborated by additional evidence, including records, documents, and communication analyses.

The court ruled that Liber acted as an intermediary for fund transfers between Ganor and Sharann, and was aware of the purpose and the need to conceal the connection. The use of companies and invoices was intended to present the funds as legitimate business payments, even though no justifying services were rendered. The court found that this also fulfilled the elements of money laundering and aiding in the preparation of false accounting records, aimed at helping Ganor and his company evade taxes.

Despite the prosecution's request to convict Liber for separate offenses related to each payment, the judge ruled it was a single, continuous factual sequence and convicted Liber of one count of mediating bribery, one count of dealing in illicit property, and one count of aiding in the preparation of false accounting records. The verdict was delivered by Judge Melamed after the case was transferred to him following the death of Judge Beni Sagie, who had heard the evidence. Judge Melamed based his decision on the existing evidence without re-hearing witnesses. This ruling is separate from the main submarine affair indictment against Ganor, Sharann, and others, and pertains solely to Liber's criminal responsibility.