Yonatan Urich, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and one of the chief suspects in the “Qatargate” investigations, was interrogated by the police at the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit headquarters on Wednesday.
That same day, the Lod District Court accepted an appeal by Israel Police to maintain the restrictive conditions Urich is under, which include the inability to leave the country or to make contact with anyone at his former places of employment – the Prime Minister’s Office and the company Perception, which is owned by fellow suspect and prime minister’s aide Israel Einhorn and is at the heart of the suspicions – all while the investigation is ongoing.
At present, the prohibition to leave the country is due to expire on September 12, while Urich will be able to contact his acquaintances on September 10.
Police representative presents position
Police representative Supt. Aviv Porat, presenting his position on Wednesday, said, “This is a man who is under investigation and may legitimately be allowed to return to the very same place from which he carried out the alleged crimes.”
Porat added that the investigation is expected to wrap up within the next month and a half. Urich’s representative, attorney Amit Hadad, is not expected to appeal the court’s decision to the Supreme Court.