Ethics Newsline®

JERUSALEM
Israeli investigators interrogated prime minister Ehud Olmert for four hours last week about corruption allegations.

Newsday reports that the session, Olmert’s second interrogation of the week, focused on allegations that he interfered in the sale of a bank to help his friends. Olmert also has been questioned about charges that he purchased a home from a real estate developer at a discount and in return helped the developer obtain construction permits.

Sources close to the probe told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the decision on whether to hand up a formal indictment will come in about two weeks.

In a statement issued to the Jerusalem Post, a spokesperson for Olmert said the prime minister is confident that investigators will conclude that his dealings with the bank sale were “taken judiciously following consultation with relevant sources” and are “above reproach.”

According to the Associated Press, the questioning was a setback for Olmert, whose popularity was starting to rebound after widespread criticism directed at him following last year’s inconclusive war with Lebanon.