Report Says Australian Billionaire Paid Netanyahu's Law Firm at Least $1.25 Million

The law firm defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his criminal trial received at least US$1.25 million from Australian billionaire James Packer, according to a report published Monday by The Sydney Morning Herald. The report has not been independently confirmed.

The newspaper alleges the money moved in monthly wire transfers of US$50,000 over the past two years, beginning on September 23, 2024. It identifies the payments as coming from the Citibank account of Packer's company, Consolidated Press International, and going to an account held at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot by the Tel Aviv firm Hadad Roth Shenhar.

The Herald said it could not confirm that Netanyahu benefited from the payments. A source familiar with Packer's financial affairs told the paper the transfers were for work Packer carried out, including finding investment deals in Israel, and had nothing to do with the prime minister's trial. The Herald said it later asked for evidence of such deals or work by the firm, but neither Packer nor his company had replied by the time of publication.

Packer declined to comment when approached, and the paper reported that he did not deny the payments. Amit Hadad, Netanyahu's defense attorney, did not answer the newspaper's questions. At the Jerusalem District Court, where evidentiary-stage hearings are continuing, he also refused to address queries on the matter.

A spokesman for Netanyahu responded to the Herald with: "I couldn't give a monkey's about your questions. We are very busy. We have an election on right now." The report appears on the eve of Israeli elections, while the trial is still under way.

Packer is linked to Case 1000, in which Netanyahu is accused of accepting gifts from him and from businessman Arnon Milchan. Netanyahu faces a charge of fraud and breach of trust in that case. Packer is not a defendant.

Prosecutors say the central allegation goes beyond the receipt of gifts. They contend the presents were supplied regularly, including in response to requests and demands, until they became a "supply line." They also allege Netanyahu advanced Milchan's interests through his public roles while in a serious and continuing conflict of interest. The alleged interventions involved Milchan's US visa, a proposed extension of tax benefits for returning residents, and regulatory issues tied to a possible investment in Israeli television.

According to the indictment, gifts to Netanyahu and his wife, mainly cigars and champagne, totaled about NIS 690,000. The allegations involving Milchan span October 2011 to December 2016, while those involving Packer cover 2014 to 2016. The indictment puts Packer's gifts at NIS 229,174, made up of NIS 145,577 in cigars and NIS 83,597 in champagne. Hadas Klein, who worked for both Milchan and Packer, was a key prosecution witness on the gifts and their delivery.

Netanyahu's trial began in May 2020 and covers three cases involving alleged gifts and dealings with media owners. He faces fraud and breach-of-trust charges in all three, plus a bribery charge in Case 4000, which concerns alleged regulatory benefits for Bezeq in exchange for intervention in coverage by the news site Walla. He denies wrongdoing.