ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 21, 1996 TAG: 9610210133
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
Murdoch firm suspected of tax fraud
JERUSALEM - Israeli tax officials raided a high-tech firm owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch on Sunday, confiscating files and computer data in a $150 million tax-evasion investigation.
A statement from Murdoch's company, News Datacom Research Ltd., said the charges were ``without merit.''
Israel Radio said 70 tax agents raided a factory in Haifa and offices in Jerusalem in one of the largest cases of suspected tax fraud in Israel's history.
The radio said the Murdoch company was accused of developing sophisticated technology and smuggling it abroad without reporting the transactions to tax authorities.
A warrant issued by Judge Amnon Cohen said tax authorities were investigating whether seven individuals and four companies had failed to pay $150 million in taxes, or had helped others in the crime.
The Magistrate Court warrant named the Australian-born Murdoch, who owns a global empire of newspapers, magazines and TV stations, as well as his Israeli company News Datacom Research Ltd. and its parent firm News Datacom Ltd. in London.
- Associated Press
Libya implicated in disco bombing
BERLIN - Germany's intelligence agency has provided prosecutors with message traffic that implicates Libya in a 1986 attack on a West Berlin disco, a justice official said Sunday.
Justice spokesman Ruediger Reiff confirmed a report in the edition of Der Spiegel news magazine to be released today.
The bombing at the La Bell discotheque in the early hours of April 5, 1986, killed two American soldiers and a Turkish woman, and wounded 230 people. The United States blamed Libya and retaliated with air raids over two Libyan cities.
In explaining the action at the time, President Reagan referred to the interception of at least two messages between East Berlin and the Libyan capital.
According to Der Spiegel, a radio message sent to Libya said, ``Expect the results early tomorrow, God willing.''
A telex later intercepted from the Libyan Embassy in East Berlin said, ``The action took place at 1:30 [a.m.], without leaving any trail.''
- Associated Press
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