Attorney general Avichai Mandelblit late Sunday night confirmed that he has ordered an initial probe of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a wider unspecified probe.
Mandelblit said he made the dramatic decision after reviewing evidence from the police intelligence unit along with State Attorney Shai Nitzan, and though his statement tried to underplay it, the prime minister\’s rivals have said it could be the beginning of his downfall after dodging several past probes.
Earlier Sunday night, Channel 10 reported that Mandelblit and Nitzan were meeting to make decisions about an initial review of alleged money-laundering by Netanyahu.
Allegations of a new major probe against Netanyahu, separate from the "Bibi Tours" and other previously known affairs have been swirling around for several days, but little or no specifics have been confirmed to date.
The statement slammed the media for misreporting the allegations, but did not give any hints as to what the correct allegations are.
Bizarrely, Mandelblit\’s statement only confirmed an initial probe and denied that a criminal investigation is in place.