JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's wife, Sara, has reached a plea bargain in a fraud
case over allegedly misusing state funds to order catered meals,
Israel Radio said on Wednesday.
Under the agreement, she will pay the state 45 000 shekels
(approx R184 000) in reimbursement and a 10 000-shekel (approx R40 000) fine while
admitting a lesser charge, the report said.
According to the original indictment, Sara Netanyahu, along
with a government employee, fraudulently obtained from the state
more than $100,000 (approx R407 000) for hundreds of meals supplied by
restaurants, bypassing regulations that prohibit the practice if
a cook is employed at home.
The deal was reached in a six-month-long mediation process
and will go into effect after it is ratified by a judge, the
radio reported.
A spokesman for the Netanyahu family declined to comment.
Prosecutors were not immediately available for comment.
The prime minister is embroiled in legal woes of his own -
three corruption cases in which he has denied wrongdoing - and a
political crisis that could force him to call a new national
election later on Wednesday.
In February, Israel's attorney general said he intended to
file fraud and bribery charges against Benjamin Netanyahu,
pending a pre-trial hearing. That session is set for October.