JERUSALEM (JTA) — Police received the go-ahead to investigate whether new Israeli President Reuven Rivlin illegally received donations from an Israeli businessman.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein authorized the probe into accusations that Rivlin received thousands of shekels monthly from businessman David Appel more than 10 years ago. Appel was sentenced to a 3 1/2-year prison sentence in July 2010 for bribing public officials.
The allegations reportedly had been probed in the past, with police deciding not to open an investigation, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“The affair regarding the relationship between the president and David Appel was investigated over ten years ago by two attorney generals, Rubenstein and Mazuz, which closed the file given the lack of charges on any of the investigation’s lead,” Rivlin’s office said in a statement.
Rivlin was sworn in late last month to serve a seven-year term, succeeding Shimon Peres.
