Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress and Estee Lauder heir, admitted to investigators he bought a suit for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and paid for his son’s holiday, according to an Israeli newspaper.
As the corruption probe into Netanyahu widened Monday, with detectives grilling the Israeli leader at his residence in Jerusalem for three hours, details emerged that Lauder is part of the investigation and was officially questioned.
According to Haaretz, Lauder confirmed to police that he had given several gifts, including a suit, to the prime minister, and financed a trip abroad for his son, Yair.
The newspaper said police sources believe the value of the gifts is worth more than Lauder has admitted — and that they weren’t given in friendship, but in hopes of gaining a benefit.
A Lauder source, however, told The Post the New York billionaire is not part of the investigation and his name is being used merely as a “shiny object to throw around.”
The source said Lauder was summoned to the office of investigators on Oct. 1, the day after he attended former Israeli president Shimon Peres’ funeral in Jerusalem, but that the meeting was “brief” and “voluntary.”
The spokesman said investigators didn’t ask about Lauder gifting suits to the embattled leader, only products pertaining to Estee Lauder.
“There was nothing about suits. That’s ridiculous. They asked him to come in and answer a couple of questions. He did. It was over in a few minutes.”
Lauder’s lawyer, Helena Beilin, said the police have not contacted Lauder since he was initially interviewed and she called the Haaretz report “totally false.”
“Mr. Lauder never made these purchases nor did he admit to them, and any report that states otherwise is completely inaccurate,” she said.
Israeli investigators have said there are suspicions that Netanyahu and his family received gifts and other benefits worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from several business people.
The campaign against Netanyahu is being led by Erel Margalit, an opposition lawmaker of the Zionist Union party.
Margalit has called for an investigation into suspicions that prominent donors improperly transferred money for Netanyahu’s personal use, as well as reports that Netanyahu’s personal attorney represented a German firm involved in a $1.5 billion sale of submarines to Israel.
Netanyahu called the investigation “baseless.”