Packer Firm Wired Defense Team $1.25 Million

Consolidated Press International, the media company controlled by Australian billionaire James Packer, sent at least $1.25 million to the law firm defending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a report published Monday by The Sydney Morning Herald. The findings, which have not yet been independently confirmed, detail financial flows that occurred over the past two years.

The newspaper identified the money as moving in monthly wire transfers of $50,000 each. These payments began on September 23, 2024. The funds left a Citibank account held by Packer’s company and arrived at Bank Mizrahi Tefahot, where the Tel Aviv firm Hadad Roth Shenhar maintains its account. This firm represents the prime minister in his criminal trial.

A source familiar with Packer’s financial affairs told the Herald that the transfers compensated Packer for work performed, such as locating investment deals in Israel. The source stated the payments had no connection to the prime minister’s legal defense. The Herald later requested evidence of these deals or work products from Packer and his company, but neither responded by publication time.

Packer declined to comment when approached by journalists and did not deny the existence of the payments. Amit Hadad, Netanyahu’s defense attorney, did not answer the newspaper’s inquiries. He also refused to address the matter at the Jerusalem District Court, where evidentiary hearings continue. A spokesman for Netanyahu offered a brief response to the questions raised by the report.

“I couldn’t give a monkey’s about your questions. We are very busy. We have an election on right now,” the spokesman said to the Herald. The report surfaces on the eve of Israeli elections while the trial remains active. Packer is linked to Case 1000 of the trial, which involves allegations of gift-taking from him and businessman Arnon Milchan.

In that case, prosecutors allege Netanyahu accepted gifts regularly, creating a “supply line” of presents. They claim he also advanced Milchan’s interests while in a conflict of interest, involving issues such as a US visa and tax benefits. The indictment values Packer’s gifts at NIS 229,174, consisting of cigars and champagne. These allegations cover the period from 2014 to 2016.

Netanyahu’s trial, which began in May 2020, spans three cases involving alleged dealings with media owners and gift recipients. He faces fraud and breach-of-trust charges in all three, along with a bribery charge in Case 4000. He denies wrongdoing in all instances.