Just days after the launch of his Social Justice movement, billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak has been questioned by the Police fraud unit.
Gaydamak was questioned at the National Fraud Unit’s headquarters in Bat Yam, with police leaking rumors of the case about which the businessman and rising political icon is being questioned.
The case involves allegations of the forging of a Justice Ministry document. The document, dated October 19, 2006, looks as though it was from Israel’s State Prosecutor’s Office and requests details about Gaydamak from Russian Interpol officials.
“I won’t let this persecution against me continue,” Gaydamak told reporters upon his arrival at the police station. “I am strong enough to deal with this and am obligated to defend myself as a citizen.”
The popular figure says that there are forces in Israel seeking to find ways to persecute him and neutralize his continued rise in the polls. Speaking in broken English, as he barely speaks Hebrew, Gaydamak noted the investigations are being conducted at the taxpayers’ expense. “I call upon the public to examine, in a pertinent manner, the actions of [senior investigating officer Yochanan] Danino and the National Fraud Division,” he said. “They have lost all sense of proportion, disregarding all red lines.”
“What have I done wrong? I have only tried to do things for the wellbeing of the citizens of Israel – in Nitzanim [where he set up a tent city for residents of the north during the summer’s war] and for the residents of Sderot [whom he sent on vacations in Eilat to help them escape the constant barrage of Kassam rockets launched from Gaza] – this is my right and my obligation as a Jew and they are trying to blacken my name. All I did was criticize the government, expressing my opinion, as is the right of everyone in this country.”
Asked if he thought the government is afraid of him, Gaydamak replied: “It is too late. They are afraid of the opinions of the public, but the majority of the public is already with me. I also have no intention of being prime minister or of taking any other position.”
Gaydamak says his persecution by the police is not an isolated incident, but one that is faced by many Israelis. “As I protect my rights, I seek to protect the rights of all of Israel’s citizens faced with similar injustices, perpetrated by some wearing the uniforms of the Israel Police," he said.
Attacking the police head on, Gaydamak said he wants one question answered. “What is the goal of people with so many resources at their disposal who are trying to desperately to destroy the life of one individual? Why are they spending such huge amounts without the presence of an transgression?”
“All this is coming at the expense of the reassertion of justice and enforcement of the law in Israel,” Gaydamak said, hurrying off to meet the investigator assigned to his case.