Israel's attorney general to examine suspicions of PM's criminal behavior "immediately"

Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said on Tuesday the findings of a state comptroller's report of possible criminal behavior on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be "immediately and seriously" examined.

Mandelblit spoke at a lawyers' conference in Tel Aviv several hours after State Comptroller Joseph Shapira issued a report on alleged double billings for trips of Netanyahu and his family members, which raised suspicions of possible criminal behavior on Netanyahu's part.

He said the findings must be "inspected without delay, in a direct and professional manner" and that his office "would not deviate from a professional standard" in looking into them, the Times of Israel website reported.

Mandelblit said he would "not hesitate" to seek prosecution if the evidence that has been gathered will justify it, the Ha'aretz daily reported.

The State Comptroller, the government's official watchdog, released the report on the so-called "Bibi-Tours Affairs" on Tuesday afternoon, pertaining to alleged external finances and double-billing of overseas trips of Netanyahu and his family while he served as finance minister and lawmaker in the early 2000's.

Netanyahu and his family allegedly received hundreds of thousands of shekels from tycoons and public bodies to finance visits in the United States and Europe. The prime minister said via his attorney there was "no fault in his actions" and that the allegations are perpetrated by political rivals.

Police launched an investigation over the matter in 2013, but a year later then-Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said there is no place for a criminal investigation of the affairs. However, the comptroller's office continued to investigate the affair.

Tuesday's Comptroller's report also singled out the former Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, and his successor Mandelblit, for covering up the affair by stalling the investigation.

Mandelblit took notice of the criticism during his speech on Tuesday evening, saying he "did not hesitate to open delicate investigations when needed," and if the evidence justified it.

"This is a professional legal question, which does not change by the identity of the person who allegedly committed the offence," Mandelblit said, according to Ha'aretz.

This is the latest in a string of scandals associated with Netanyahu and his wife Sara.

In February, a labor court ruled that Sara Netanyahu abused a former manager of their official residence in Jerusalem.

Last July, the Attorney General's office launched a criminal investigation into suspected financial improprieties and excessive spending of public funds at the two houses owned by the family between 2009 and 2013. Endit