Israeli Police on Monday morning detained six people for questioning on suspicion of involvement in “Case 3,000,” a.k.a. the “submarine affair,” including an individual close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to police, some of the suspects were civil servants during the submarine acquisitions that are at the foundation of the corruption investigation. According to Ha’aretz, a senior IDF official is expected to be called in for questioning over the same affair soon.
The submarines affair is the subject of a criminal investigation into the manner by which Dolphin submarines and Sa’ar 6 warships were purchased from German multinational conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG. Police investigators at the special Lahav 433 unit suspect that aspects of the affair were carried out unlawfully and that the purchases were made contrary to the views of the IDF professional staff.
Police suspect that personal relationships among people in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s circle contributed to self-serving, biased procurement decisions. The criminal investigation also includes accusations of bribes and conflicts of interest behind the procurements.
According to Israeli media reports, the main criminal suspects in the case are attorney David Shamron—a relative of Netanyahu who was also his personal attorney, businessman Miki Ganor, and former Navy Commander Eli “Cheney” Marom.
As a result of the investigation, the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Israel and Germany regarding the acquisition of the submarines was postponed for several months, and it has been agreed that should criminal offenses or corruption were found in connection with the submarines deal, it would be canceled.