Packer Firm Sent $1.25 Million to Netanyahu Defense Lawyers

A report published Monday reveals that Australian billionaire James Packer’s company paid the legal team defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his criminal trial.

The Sydney Morning Herald states that Consolidated Press International, Packer’s company, transferred at least US$1.25 million to the Tel Aviv law firm Hadad Roth Shenhar. The newspaper traces the funds to monthly wire transfers of US$50,000 that began on September 23, 2024, and continued over the past two years. The money moved from a Citibank account held by Packer’s company to an account at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot.

A source familiar with Packer’s financial affairs told the paper that the payments covered work performed by the company, such as finding investment deals in Israel. The source stated the transfers had nothing to do with the prime minister’s trial. The Herald reported that it asked for evidence of these deals or work, but neither Packer nor his company replied before publication. Packer declined to comment when approached by the paper, though he did not deny the payments. Amit Hadad, a defense attorney, did not answer the newspaper’s questions and refused to address the matter at the Jerusalem District Court.

A spokesman for Netanyahu responded to the report with a blunt dismissal. He told the paper, "I couldn't give a monkey's about your questions. We are very busy. We have an election on right now." The findings surface on the eve of Israeli elections, while the trial continues in the evidentiary stage.

The payments arrive as Packer remains a central figure in Case 1000 of the trial. In that case, prosecutors accuse Netanyahu of accepting gifts from Packer and businessman Arnon Milchan. Netanyahu faces charges of fraud and breach of trust for these actions. Packer is not a defendant. The indictment alleges that the gifts, which included cigars and champagne, were supplied regularly until they became a "supply line." Prosecutors also allege that Netanyahu advanced Milchan’s interests in matters such as US visas and tax benefits while in a conflict of interest.

According to the indictment, the gifts from Packer totaled NIS 229,174 between 2014 and 2016. This sum consisted of NIS 145,577 in cigars and NIS 83,597 in champagne. Gifts from both Packer and Milchan to Netanyahu and his wife totaled about NIS 690,000. Hadas Klein, who worked for both men, served as a key prosecution witness regarding the delivery of these items.

Netanyahu’s trial began in May 2020 and covers three cases involving alleged dealings with media owners. He faces fraud and breach-of-trust charges in all three cases, along with a bribery charge in Case 4000 related to Bezeq and the Walla news site. He denies all wrongdoing.