In the ongoing Case 1000 corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, movie mogul Arnon Milchan revealed on Sunday that he and the prime minister used code names for the regular gifts he had been giving to the Likud leader. Milchan referred to shirts as “uniforms” and cigars as “leaves” but insisted they believed no legal issues were attached to these exchanges.
Milchan could not recall the complete range of gifts he had provided to the Netanyahu family. But when presented with specific items such as champagne, cigars, and jewelry, he confirmed he had gifted these to Netanyahu. Amit Haddad, Netanyahu’s attorney, objected when the gifting of a jacket was discussed, arguing that it was not mentioned in the indictment.
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During the trial, Milchan recalled buying shirts for Netanyahu following a discussion about the prime minister’s lack of suitable attire.
The prime minister attended the trial in Jerusalem, and his wife, Sara, followed the proceedings from the hearing room in a UK courthouse where Milchan gave his testimony.
Milchan, testifying remotely due to health concerns, described his friendship with Netanyahu as brotherly. The two had conversed about history and economics, and he had also advised the prime minister on certain issues. The trial continues with accusations that Milchan provided gifts worth hundreds of thousands of shekels to the Netanyahu family in return for the prime minister’s influence in securing changes to the Israeli tax code that would greatly benefit Milchin, as well as a US visa.