Police have taken Beny Steinmetz, one of Israel's richest men, into custody in connection to an international money laundering scheme. Authorities also captured an adviser to the Austrian premier.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Guez
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Israeli police on Monday detained five suspects as part of a wide-ranging money laundering investigation that targeted a renowned billionaire and high-profile political adviser.
Police said they were "investigating a number of suspects since the morning on suspicion that they worked systematically with the main suspect in order to produce and present fictitious contracts and transactions, including in the field of real estate in a foreign country, for the purpose of money transfers and money laundering."
The operation marked the second time Beny Steinmetz, an Israeli diamond magnate, was held by Israeli authorities since December, when he was placed under house arrest following a corruption probe into mining deals in the West African nation of Guinea.
Tal Silberstein, an adviser to Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, was also targeted by the operation, prompting the Social Democratic Party of Austria to cut ties with him.
"We have parted with an adviser who had played a very important role in the team of Chancellor Christian Kern for a long time," said a statement from the party.
Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq said David Granot, its interim chairman, was detained, but that the police investigation did not concern its entities.
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Denying allegations
However, Steinmetz told a magistrates court on Monday that the allegations were unfounded, adding that the claims formed part of a political persecution campaign funded by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros.
Last year, Romania authorities charged Steinmetz with forming an organized criminal group and money laundering in a case that cost Bucharest $145 million (123 million euros). According to Forbes, Steinmetz has a net worth of $1.02 billion.
The court ordered Steinmetz and Silberstein's remands be extended for an additional four days.
Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017
The city of Jerusalem has been one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. DW compares the city in 1967, during the Six-Day War, with how it looks 50 years on.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Mount of Olives today
The old City Wall and the gold-domed Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock, are visible in the background from the mountain ridge which lies to the east of the Old City. The Old Jewish Cemetery, situated on the western and southern slopes of the ridge, are in an area once named for its many olive groves. It is the oldest continually used Jewish cemetery in the world.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Mount of Olives then
If it weren't for the ancient Ottoman city wall and the shrine in the background, viewers might not realize this is the same site. The picture was taken on June 7th, 1967, when the peak was this brigade's command post at the height of the Six-Day War, or Arab-Israeli War.
Image: Government Press Office/REUTERS
Al-Aqsa mosque today
Al-Aqsa, with its silver-colored dome and vast hall, is located on Temple Mount. Muslims call the mosque the "Noble Sanctuary," but it is also the most sacred site in Judaism, a place where two biblical temples were believed to have stood. As well, it is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam, after Mecca and Medina. There have long been tensions over control of the entire Temple Mount area.
Image: Reuters/A. Awad
Al-Aqsa mosque then
The name Al-Aqsa translates to "the farthest mosque." It is also Jerusalem's biggest mosque. Israel has strict control over the area after conquering all of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, and regaining access to its religious sites. Leaders at the time agreed that the Temple Mount would be administered by an Islamic religious trust known as the Waqf.
Image: Reuters/
Damascus Gate today
The historic Gate, named in English for the fact that the road from there heads north to Damascus, is a busy main entrance to Palestinian East Jerusalem, and to a bustling Arab bazaar. Over the past two years, it has frequently been the site of security incidents and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Damascus Gate then
The gate itself - what we see today was built by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1537 - looks much the same in this July 1967 picture. Seven Gates allow entrance to the Old City and its separate quarters.
Image: Reuters/
Old City today
Jerusalem's vibrant Old City, a UNESCO world Heritage Site since 1981, is home to sites important to many different religions: the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque for Muslims, Temple Mount and the Western Wall for Jews, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians. Busy and colorful, it is a great place for shopping and food, and a top attraction for visitors.
Image: Reuters/A. Awad
Old City then
This picture was taken in July 1967, but 50 years later, some things in the Old City haven't changed at all. Boys like the one in the photo balancing a tray of sesame pastries - called bagels - still roam the streets of the Old City today, hawking the sweet breads sprinkled with sesame seeds for about a euro ($1.12) apiece.
Image: Reuters/Fritz Cohen/Courtesy of Government Press Office
Western Wall today
This section of ancient limestone wall in Jerusalem's Old City is the western support wall of the Temple Mount. It is the most religious site for Jewish people, who come here to pray and perhaps to place a note in a crack in the wall. There is a separate section for men and for women, but it is free and open to everyone all year round - after the obligatory security check.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Western Wall then
The Western Wall is also known as the 'Wailing' Wall, a term considered derogatory and not used by Jews. The above photo of people flocking to the Wall to pray was taken on September 1, 1967, just weeks after Israel regained control of the site following the Six-Day-War. It had been expelled from the Old City 19 years earlier during Jordan's occupation.