JERUSALEM - Police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday about his involvement in the privatization of Israel's second-largest bank -- one of two cases in which the Israeli leader is being investigated on suspicion of corruption.
Authorities suspect Olmert tried to rig the government's sale of a controlling interest in Bank Leumi in favor of two associates when he was finance minister in 2005. He was questioned at his official residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning by three police investigators, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Olmert has said the transaction was handled properly. The associates, Australian real estate developer Frank Lowy and American billionaire S. Daniel Abraham, never submitted a formal bid.
"The prime minister is confident that at the end of investigation, it will emerge that all the decisions taken with regard to the privatization of bank Leumi were professional and taken judiciously following consultations with relevant sources, and that his actions were above reproach," his office said in a statement ahead of the questioning.
Last month, Israel's attorney general ordered police to launch a separate criminal investigation into allegations Olmert bought a Jerusalem home from a developer at well below market value -- in return for helping the developer obtain construction permits from Jerusalem authorities.
State comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss also has accused Olmert of using his influence to steer a government grant to a colleague in 2001, when he was trade minister. Suspicions also have clouded two other real estate deals in which Olmert has been involved.
The prime minister has been dogged by corruption allegations throughout his three-decade political career but never has been convicted. He consistently has denied any wrongdoing.
While the police investigations pose no immediate threat to Olmert's job, it is another distraction for the embattled leader as he tries to make peace with the Palestinians.
The investigations also come at a time when his image has begun to improve following last year's inconclusive war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and a series of scandals.
