Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday testified for the first time in a massive corruption investigation into the 2016 procurement of submarines and naval vessels from a German shipyard.
The investigation, dubbed Case 3,000, centers on a possible conflict of interest surrounding the €2 billion ($2.3 billion) deal with German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp.
The police have repeatedly stated that Netanyahu is not a person of interest in the case.
The main suspects in Case 3,000 include Netanyahu's attorney and cousin David Shimron, former National Security Council Deputy Director Avriel Bar Yosef, Israeli businessman Miki Ganor, who was the German company's representative in Israel and has turned state's witness, and former Israeli Navy Commander Vice Adm. (ret.) Eliezer Marom. Other suspects include David Sharan, who served as the prime minister's bureau chief between late 2014 and mid-2016, a former commander of the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit and strategic advisers Tzachi Lieber and Natan Mor.
A police statement said the prime minister "gave testimony over a period of several hours. … The investigation is being conducted under the supervision and oversight of the state attorney and with the approval of the attorney general. We cannot elaborate further on an ongoing investigation."
A spokesperson for Netanyahu said the prime minister "detailed all the professional considerations which guided his decision-making process in the matter of the submarines and naval vessels, and their importance to Israel's security. The prime minister welcomed the opportunity to clarify the complete picture and to finally put an end to the false claims that have been made against him by politicians and others in this case."
The Kan Public Broadcasting Corporation reported Tuesday that the Major Crimes Unit was poised to officially clear the prime minister and the members of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet of any wrongdoing in the case.
At this point in the investigation, the police are convinced that the cabinet followed protocol in greenlighting the 2016 deal and that any corruption was limited to the midlevel professional elements involved in the process.
A source in the State Attorney's Office confirmed the report, reiterating that Netanyahu was never a suspect in the case.
