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The Lockheed bribe scandal refers to a series of bribery incidents involving the Lockheed Aircraft Company. In Israel, a specific instance of this scandal came to light in 1976 through an intercepted telegram.1
Ari Ben-Menashe, while serving as a duty officer in Unit 8200, intercepted a telegram from the Iran Embassy in Ramat Gan to Tehran. This telegram detailed a meeting between an Lockheed Aircraft Company representative in Israel and Shimon Peres, then Defense Minister, revealing a bribe of $3.5 million deposited into one of Shimon Peres brother's business accounts in Europe.1
Despite the explosive nature of this information, it was covered up by Israel military intelligence superiors, including Yoel Ben-Porat and Sasson Yishaek. The original telegram, its translation, and related logs were ordered to be erased, and the young woman working with Ari Ben-Menashe was transferred to another unit. No public disclosure or inquiry was ever made regarding Israel involvement in the scandal.1
Footnotes
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Ben-Menashe, Ari. Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War") ↩︎