Netanyahu's wife Sara to pay fine for misuse of funds to order catered meals

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has reached a plea bargain in a fraud case over allegedly misusing state funds to order catered meals, Israel Radio said on Wednesday. Under the agreement, she will pay the state 45,000 shekels ($12,400) in reimbursement and a 10,000-shekel fine while admitting a lesser charge, the report said.

According to the original indictment, Sara Netanyahu, along with a government employee, fraudulently obtained from the state more than $100,000 for hundreds of meals supplied by restaurants, bypassing regulations that prohibit the practice if a cook is employed at home. The deal was reached in a six-month-long mediation process and will go into effect after it is ratified by a judge, the radio reported.

A spokesman for the Netanyahu family declined to comment. Prosecutors were not immediately available for comment. The prime minister is embroiled in legal woes of his own - three corruption cases in which he has denied wrongdoing - and a political crisis that could force him to call a new national election later on Wednesday. In February, Israel's attorney general said he intended to file fraud and bribery charges against Benjamin Netanyahu, pending a pre-trial hearing. That session is set for October. ($1 = 3.6162 shekels)