The Israel Police apparently misused spyware during the investigation into the so-called Submarine Affair in breach of a court warrant that had set specific restrictions on its employment by law enforcement officials, Israel Hayom has learned.
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The Submarine Affair, also known as Case 3000, is an alleged graft case that shocked the nation when it was first reported several years ago and is seen as one of the gravest scandals in the defense establishment's history. Prosecutors claim there was a possible conflict of interest and bribery involving a $2 billion purchase of naval vessels from Germany's Thyssenkrupp that implicated some of former Prime Minister Netanyahu's closest associates. While the alleged misconduct happened during Netanyahu's term in office, he has not been named a suspect.
In February 2017, Judge Tal Avraham granted investigators a limited warrant to electronically tap the mobile device of one of the then-suspects, Vice Adm. (ret.) Eliezer Marom, which allowed the limited use of spyware. But Israel Hayom has learned that the technology was ultimately used to extract data whose scope went far beyond the extent stipulated in the warrant. This included contacts, text messages, and additional electronic material. The State Attorney's Office and the Israel Police said in response that "the information was never handed over to the investigative team" although the statement remained mum on whether the data gleaned was used in any other capacity. The prosecution ultimately decided not to indict Marom and dropped the charges, although it is not clear whether the use of the spyware contributed to the decision.
The other suspects in the case include former National Security Council Deputy Director Avriel Bar Yosef, Israeli businessman Miki Ganor, former prime minister's bureau chief David Sharan. Netanyahu's attorney at the time David Shimron was a suspect but ultimately saw the charges dropped.
Israel Hayom has learned that Ganor and Bar Yosef's wife, Aliza, were also targeted by spyware without proper authorization. Like in Marom's case, this resulted in the extraction of information that exceeded the permitted parameters. In the case of Ganor, the spyware was used for 50 days.
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