Israel detains 6 for fraud suspicion

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli police on Monday detained six people in connection with a criminal investigation into Israel’s acquisition of three German submarines.

In a statement, police said the six were government officials and worked in the private sector at the time of the submarine deal.

Three of the suspects are senior officials and one is close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to The Jerusalem Post.

They were detained on suspicion of bribery, fraud, money laundering, and tax offenses.

In February, the Justice Minister ordered a criminal investigation into possible wrongdoing in the submarine deal.

The move came after a TV channel revealed that Netanyahu’s personal lawyer David Shimron worked as an intermediary for Miki Ganor, the Israeli representative of the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp.