Wire Transfers: $1.25 Million Moves from Packer to Netanyahu Defense

A law firm defending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received at least $1.25 million from Australian billionaire James Packer, according to a report published Monday by The Sydney Morning Herald. The newspaper details a series of monthly wire transfers of $50,000 that began on September 23, 2024, and continued over the past two years.

The funds originated from the Citibank account of Consolidated Press International, Packer's company. They were deposited into an account held at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot by the Tel Aviv firm Hadad Roth Shenhar. The report notes that the payments have not been independently confirmed. A source familiar with Packer's financial affairs told the Herald that the transfers compensated work performed by the firm, such as securing investment deals in Israel, rather than covering legal fees for the prime minister.

The newspaper stated that it requested evidence of these business deals after speaking with the source. Neither Packer nor his company had replied by the time the article was published. Packer declined to comment when approached by the outlet, though the report indicates he did not deny the existence of the payments. Amit Hadad, Netanyahu's defense attorney, did not answer questions from the Herald and also refused to address the matter during breaks in proceedings at the Jerusalem District Court.

Netanyahu's spokesman responded to the inquiry with a blunt message. He told the Herald, "I couldn't give a monkey's about your questions. We are very busy. We have an election on right now." The timing of the report coincides with the upcoming Israeli elections, while the prime minister's criminal trial continues at the district court.

Packer is a named figure in Case 1000, where Netanyahu is accused of accepting gifts from him and businessman Arnon Milchan. The indictment alleges that the gifts, primarily cigars and champagne, formed a "supply line" over time. Prosecutors claim the total value of gifts to Netanyahu and his wife was approximately 690,000 shekels. The portion attributed to Packer was 229,174 shekels, covering 145,577 shekels in cigars and 83,597 shekels in champagne.

The trial began in May 2020 and involves three separate cases. Netanyahu faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in all three instances, along with a bribery charge in Case 4000 related to Bezeq. He denies all wrongdoing. Hadas Klein, a former employee of both Milchan and Packer, served as a key prosecution witness regarding the delivery of the gifts. The alleged period of Packer's involvement in the gift-giving spans 2014 to 2016.