JERUSALEM, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police said Thursday there was sufficient evidence to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyer and five other suspects for bribery in a 2-billion-U.S. dollar deal to purchase German submarines.
Netanyahu was questioned as a witness but the police said he is not a suspect in the high-profile case, dubbed by the police as "Case 3000."
Israeli police said in a statement that David Shimron, Netanyahu's personal lawyer and relative, and others are suspected of bribery and other corruption charges in a deal to buy three submarines and four patrol vessels from the German corporation Thyssenkrupp.
The police said that Shimron acted on behalf of Michael Ganor, Thyssenkrupp's Israel representative at the time of the deal, "in order to promote the deal between Israel and the corporation while using his status and closeness to the Prime Minister and public officials."
Ganor himself has become a state witness in the case.
The police said Netanyahu's former chief of office, David Sharan, is also suspected of bribery. And former chief commander of Israeli Navy, Eliezer Marom, is also a suspect in the case with two other former navy generals and a former minister.
Shimron's lawyer said in a statement that his client did not commit any crime and was not involved in the submarine deal.
The Israeli police said it has completed its investigation in the case and recommended charges against the suspects.
It will be decided by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit whether to indict the suspects in the case.
Mandelblit told a conference on Thursday that the case is "a hard and serious affair," adding that he will check the police recommendations and make decisions.
The submarine case is one of several criminal investigations that Netanyahu or his close associates are involved. In February, the police recommended indicting Netanyahu in two other corruption cases.
