Miki Ganor
Miki GanorFlash 90

Miki Ganor, the state witness in Case 3000, also known as the submarine affair, was arrested on Tuesday evening after he asked to change parts of his testimony.

The police said that Ganor would be brought to the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday for a hearing in his case, and that the police would request an extension of his detention according to the interrogation needs.

Ganor was questioned again after he arrived at the police station on Tuesday evening, claiming that he wanted to change his previous version of the agreement signed with him.

Ganor signed an agreement with prosecutors in July of 2017 to cooperate with the submarine probe, which focuses on the period he worked for the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp. He has admitted to bribing senior officials in order to help secure contracts for ThyssenKrupp with the Israeli Defense Ministry.

In his interrogation on Tuesday evening, however, Ganor claimed, "I did not bribe anyone. All the payments that were transferred to those involved in the case were for professional services, including counseling services. I said in the past that it was bribery only because of the tremendous pressure that was applied on me and so I aligned myself with the police narrative.”

The Israel Police said, "Today, Miki Ganor, the state witness in Case 3000, arrived at Lahav 433 and asked to change the version he gave during the investigation of the affair."

"At this moment, Ganor is being questioned under warning in the national unit for fighting economic crime. As a result, the Israel Police and the State Attorney's Office will decide whether there is room to cancel the state witness agreement signed with him.”

Last November the police published its recommendations following the conclusion of the investigation into the submarine affair. The recommendations stated that evidence was established for the prosecution of six senior officers who were interrogated in the affair.

Among the senior officials are Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's close associate and personal attorney David Shimron, Netanyahu’s former bureau chief David Sharan and former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom.

At the same time, it was determined that there was no evidentiary basis of offenses against Netanyahu's personal envoy, Yitzhak Molcho.

Police have also stressed that the Prime Minister is not suspected of any connection to the affair.