Jerusalem, Nov 10: Israel`s Attorney General has closed an investigation into allegations of corruption involving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon but said Sharon acted improperly, the justice ministry said in a statement today. Two more corruption cases remain open against the Israeli premier, unrelated to each other.

In the case closed today, Sharon was accused of intervening with a government official on behalf of family friends who subsequently received higher compensation for expropriated land.

Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein ruled that while Sharon deviated from accepted norms of behavior for a public official, "it is impossible to conclude that the Prime Minister`s actions constitute corruption," the statement said.
"There is not enough evidence to justify turning the case over for a police investigation," the statement said.

But Rubinstein ruled that "given the facts discovered in the investigation, the incident most definitely constitutes a deviation from accepted norms of behavior," the statement said.

Bureau Report