Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a sixth time time Friday on his alleged involvement in corruption affairs currently under investigation, dpa reported.
According to Israeli media reports, the three-and-a-half hour session at Olmert's Jerusalem home centered on suspicions that in the years before he became prime minister he received hundreds of thousands of dollars, most of it via envelopes full of cash, from US- Jewish fundraiser Morris Talansky.
Olmert was also questioned on allegations that while trade and industry minister he pushed for favourable responses to be given to grant applications submitted to the ministry's investment centre by clients of his former law partner.
Previous questioning undergone by Olmert in recent weeks also dealt with allegations that he double-, and even triple-, billed sponsors for overseas visits, and used the extra money to pay for trips for his family.
The premier also is suspected of buying a house in an upscale Jerusalem neighbourhood, at a price significantly below the market value, in return for helping the building contractor receive construction permits from the Jerusalem authorities.
Olmert has denied all the accusations against him, and although he admitted receiving funds via Talansky in what has become known as "the money envelopes" affair, denies the sums mentioned, and insists it was legitimate reimbursements for food and accommodation.
Despite media reports, usually quoting police sources, that an indictment is forthcoming, it remains unclear if and when Olmert will formally be charged with the various offences he is accused of committing.
But the ongoing investigations have nonetheless further eroded the premier's already low popularity and last month he announced that he intends stepping down from the premiership after his Kadima party choses a new leader in primaries on September 17.
Announcing his intentions in a televised appearance, he slammed the conduct of the investigations against him, saying that while he was proud to live in a country "where the prime minister can be investigated like any other citizen," he had "been denied the elementary right to the presumption of innocence."
Olmert's office has been involved in a public spat with the police and the state prosecutor's office regarding leaks from the investigations against him.
Accounts of police interrogations of witnesses and others involved in the alleged scandals have often appeared in the media within a very short time of their having taken place.
Olmert became prime minister in March 2006, after he led the Kadima party to victory in Israel's Knesset parliamentary elections. His parliamentary career stretches back to 1974. As a novice legislator he made a name for himself by battling organized crime.