A Tel Aviv District Court on Monday found communications adviser Yitzhak (Tzahi) Liber guilty of acting as an intermediary in bribery related to the Submarine Affair, part of the broader Case 3000 corruption investigation. The court ruled that Liber accepted nearly NIS 94,000 from businessman Miki Ganor, intended for David Sharan, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Judge Dr. Shmuel Melamed convicted Liber on charges of brokering bribes, money laundering, and assisting in falsifying accounting records. The court determined that payments were disguised as consulting fees for services that were not actually provided.
Case 3000 centers on allegations of corruption involving Israel’s procurement of submarines and naval vessels from the German firm ThyssenKrupp. Ganor represented ThyssenKrupp in Israel, while Sharan served in senior roles within the Prime Minister’s Office. Liber, a close associate of Sharan, was tried separately from Ganor and Sharan, whose trials remain ongoing.
The court examined two payments from Ganor: NIS 35,400 made in November 2014 to Liber’s company, and NIS 58,500 paid in August 2016 to a company linked to Liber’s business partner. According to the verdict, these payments were concealed through false invoices and companies used to mask the financial link between Ganor and Sharan, allowing the transfers to be recorded as legitimate business expenses.
Liber denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the funds were for legitimate communications and strategic consulting services. His defense maintained that he did not pass Ganor’s money to Sharan, suggesting a separate payment to Sharan was merely a thank-you for an introduction to Ganor.
The court rejected these claims, relying on Liber’s statements during police interrogations, Ganor’s testimonies to investigators, and corroborating financial records. In his police account, Liber admitted to receiving cash from Ganor and passing it to Sharan, as well as relaying information and requests concerning the submarine deals. Though both Liber and Ganor later retracted their statements, Judge Melamed found their initial testimonies credible, supported by payment records, notes, consultant lists, and communication logs.
The judge also noted that the purported consulting arrangements lacked commercial rationale. The parties exchanged unsigned contract drafts, and Liber failed to explain how payment amounts and timing were determined.
Liber’s defense sought to exclude his police statements, claiming that investigators from the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit pressured him, restricted access to legal counsel, and conditioned cooperation on release from detention. The court dismissed this argument, concluding that Liber’s admissions were voluntary and made after private consultation with a lawyer.
While prosecutors requested convictions for each payment separately, Melamed treated the two transfers as a single ongoing criminal act. Liber was therefore convicted on one count each of bribery brokerage, money laundering, and assisting in the preparation of false accounting records.
Judge Melamed took over the case following the death of Judge Benny Sagi, who had presided over the evidence. He based his verdict on the existing record after both parties agreed not to supplement the evidence further.