Police have widened a probe into Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is already under investigation for gifts allegedly received from a friend and talks with the publisher of one of Israel’s largest newspapers.
Investigators are now looking into two other matters related to Netanyahu, Channel
10 television reported on Monday night.
One of the matters appears to involve a deal for Israel to purchase German submarines, while the second affair remained unclear, according to the reports.
It was unclear whether the new probes were preliminary inquiries or if they had been elevated to full-fledged investigations.
Police declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
Netanyahu's cousin, family lawyer and confidant David Shimron was reportedly involved in the deal to purchase Dolphin submarines from Germany's ThyssenKrupp.
Media reports have alleged a conflict of interest over the role played by Shimron, who has also represented ThyssenKrupp's Israeli agent. However, the deal between heads of governments and the manufacture of these craft is limited.
The premier is already under investigation over suspicions of unlawfully receiving gifts from wealthy supporters.
A parallel investigation is examining talks about a possible quid pro quo between Netanyahu and Arnon “Noni” Mozes, publisher of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper, in which Mozes offered that the paper’s anti-Netanyahu stance would be toned down in return for helping reduce Yediot's competition, the free Israel Hayom.
Netanyahu has flatly denied any wrongdoing, accusing Israeli media of "pursuing an unprecedented campaign against me in order to bring down (my) Likud government" by publishing leaks from the investigations.
"The campaign is aimed at putting pressure on the attorney general so that he would convict me," Netanyahu said.
AFP contributed to this report