Members of Israeli war minister’s party face corruption charges

Tel Aviv is set to bring charges against officials of minister of military affairs Avigdor Lieberman’s party as part of what has been referred to as Israel’s largest corruption probes.

According to a statement released by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s office on Tuesday, former deputy interior minister and Yisrael Beitenu party secretary general Faina Kirshenbaum and former tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov face charges of bribery, fraud and tax offenses.

Misezhnikov will also be charged with cocaine possession in Israel and abroad and for its use while acting as a minister, the statement added.

Several other members of his party are also named in the statement, including officials, lobbyists and advisors.

The probe has been referred to as “one of the largest public corruption investigations in Israel,” and includes alleged crimes committed between 2009 and 2014.

Lieberman’s party, Yisrael Beitenu, holds five seats in Israel’s 120-chair Knesset. Lieberman was appointed as part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet in May.

The case is but the latest to hit Israel over the last few months. In June, Israel’s attorney general ordered a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption by Netanyahu over non-reported millions in funds transferred by French fraudster Arnaud Mimran to Bibi during the 2009 elections.

The incident came only three months after former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began serving a 19-month prison sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice.