Packer Firm Wired $1.25M to Netanyahu Defense

The law firm representing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received at least $1.25 million from Australian billionaire James Packer, according to a report published on Monday. The Sydney Morning Herald identified the funds as monthly wire transfers of $50,000 that began on September 23, 2024, and continued over a two-year period.

The newspaper traced the money from a Citibank account belonging to Packer's company, Consolidated Press International. The transfers went to an account at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot held by the Tel Aviv firm Hadad Roth Shenhar. The report notes that the findings have not been independently confirmed.

A source familiar with Packer's financial affairs told the paper that the payments compensated work performed by his company. This included finding investment deals in Israel, a task distinct from the Prime Minister's criminal trial. The Herald stated that it later requested evidence of these deals or work, but neither Packer nor his company replied by publication time.

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 hearings are currently continuing, Hadad also refused to address the matter when queried.

A spokesman for Netanyahu responded to the inquiry with a direct quote. He said, "I couldn't give a monkey's about your questions. We are very busy. We have an election on right now." The report was released on the eve of Israeli elections, while the trial remains active.

Packer is linked to Case 1000, in which Netanyahu is accused of accepting gifts from him and from businessman Arnon Milchan. Netanyahu faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in that case. Prosecutors allege that the gifts were supplied regularly until they became a supply line. They also contend that Netanyahu advanced Milchan's interests through his public roles while in a conflict of interest.

The indictment details that 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 delivery of these items.