Israeli PM's wife Sara charged with fraud

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife was charged on Thursday with fraud over alleged misuse of state funds, the justice ministry said.

"The Jerusalem District Attorney has filed an indictment against the prime minister's wife, Sara Netanyahu," the ministry said in a statement.

The charges include offences of accepting bribes, fraud and a breach of trust.

Sara Netanyahu, 59, is accused of fraudulently obtaining some $100,000 of public funds for hundreds of meals supplied by restaurants and chefs to the official Prime Minister's Residency in Jerusalem while falsely stating that there were no cooks or staff at home.

Along with Sara, Ezra Saidoff, a former deputy director-general at the Prime Minister's Office, was charged with forgery and other financial offences.

The allegations were announced last year, but Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit postponed his decision on whether to indict Sara Netanyahu in order to try to reach a plea bargain, under which she will admit guilty and agree to return some of the money.

She denied any wrongdoing. The deal was never signed.

The prime minister himself has been entangled in several serious corruption investigations. He has repeatedly denied, accusing the police and the press of "orchestrated witch hunt" against him and his wife.