At his own request, Gusinsky questioned by police over money-laundering scandal
By Jonathan Lis
Police questioned Russian-Israeli businessman Vladimir Gusinsky for about five hours yesterday over a money-laundering scandal at Bank Hapoalim's Hayarkon branch in Tel Aviv.
The police suspect that Gusinsky, who owns a 27 percent stake in Maariv Holdings, used his accounts at the Hayarkon branch to launder funds. Three weeks ago, investigators from the international investigations unit raided the offices of Gusinsky's holding company, Most, and seized various documents that could shed light on the affair.
Nevertheless, Gusinsky is the one who requested yesterday's session with the police, which he hoped would help him prove that the money in the suspect accounts was obtained legally. The interrogation took place immediately following his arrival in Israel from Europe, at midday yesterday, and Gusinsky answered all the questions posed to him.
Even before the interrogation took place, however, police had said that they do not intend to pursue indictments against any of the suspect account-holders for laundering funds obtained through criminal activity. Rather, they are investigating the lesser charge of improper financial transactions that could be used to launder funds.
Gusinsky's associates stressed that in the three weeks since his offices were raided, the police made no effort to call him in for questioning. That, they said, is why he took the initiative of arranging a meeting. He was met at the airport by his team of lawyers, headed by former justice minister David Libai, and went straight to the international squad's headquarters in Petah Tikva.
Asked for comment on the suspicions against him, the former Russian oligarch, who currently lives in the United States, denied any involvement in the affair. He stated that all his wealth was legally obtained, and that his international business dealings are closely supervised by teams of lawyers and accountants in all the countries where he operates. His associates added that he had been shocked to learn from the media about the suspicions against him.
Gusinsky's personal aide, Arnon Perlman, said that Gusinsky "has great respect for the country's law enforcement agencies and will cooperate fully with the police investigation."
The money-laundering scandal at the Hapoalim branch is massive. More than 20 bank employees have been arrested so far, and some 45 Israeli and foreign businessmen are suspected of using the bank to launder funds. The bank clerks are suspected of coming up with a variety of methods to launder the cash, as well as of failing to report suspicious transactions.
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