United States millionaire says he gave Olmert large sums of cash

A US millionaire testifying in a corruption probe that could force Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert out of office said on Tuesday he gave the premier large sums of cash to fund his political ambitions and perhaps his taste for high living.

Morris Talansky gave evidence for seven hours in an Occupied Jerusalem district court in a criminal investigation into claims that Olmert received tens of thousands of dollars in illegal funds in the years before he became prime minister in 2006.

The 75-year-old Jewish American financier said in sworn testimony that could later be used at a trial that he handed envelopes stuffed with cash to Olmert and his assistant over a period of 15 years.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.dailystar.com.lb