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Finance Minister Abraham Hirschson (photo: Kadima website)
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| By israelinsider staff March 22, 2007 |
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Kadima has already begun seeking out an appropriate replacement for Finance Minister Abraham Hirschson, in light of suspicions that he was involved in the embezzlement of funds from a non-profit organization and received a monetary bribe. It is unclear whether or not Hirchson will resign over the incident.
For the time being, his office is carrying on as usual and their official response is that the minister has no intentions of resigning from his post.
However, according to Ynetnews, his associates said Wednesday, "Hirschson's situation is complicated. It's unclear yet where he'll be when all the investigations are over."
A number of potential candidates have already been suggested for the position, including MK Ronnie Bar-On, Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit, and possibly former Justice Minister Haim Ramon, assuming he is able to emerge innocent from his own legal scandal.
It is not yet clear what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to do. He may may chose a professional economist to replace the Finance Minister, in order to maintain market stability. According to his aides, Olmert has no intentions of handing over the position to the Labor party.
The suspicions
On Tuesday Hirschson was questioned by police investigators regarding suspicions that he was involved in the embezzlement of funds from a non-profit organization in 2003 and received a cash bribe.
The affair began while Hirschson was chairman of the National Workers Labor Federation. According to the charges, Ovadia Cohen, who was CEO of the Nili Association, told Hirschson that he had stolen about USD 1.3 million from the association to pay back his brother's gambling debts.
Hirschson then fired Cohen from his post but, according to the comptroller's report, failed to approach the police about the incident.
In 2005, an accountant investigating the Nili Association realized that the funds were missing and approached the State comptroller to open an investigation.
In separate corruption charges, it was also revealed on Tuesday that authorities discovered USD 250,000 hidden among Hirschson's belongings on a trip back from Poland in 1997. This incident will be subject to the police probe as well. |
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