Israeli Attorney General Meni Mazuz will decide whether the President faces trial after police recommended he be charged.
According to a statement, the police also found a basis for
charges of fraud and malfeasance in office over pardons
granted by the president. He may also face charges for illegal wiretapping.
Other investigations are continuing into whether the President disrupted a police investigation and harassed a witness.
While a previous president and several prime ministers have been
suspected of financial misdeeds and a former defence minister was convicted of sexual harassment, the charges facing President Katsav would be the most serious criminal counts brought against a serving Israeli official.
President Katasav has denied all wrongdoing. However, if indicted he would likely be forced to resign. In Israel, the president holds a largely ceremonial role with little authority, but is considered a unifying force in a fractured society.
Sexual harassment claims
Israel Radio and Channel 2 TV said the case against Katsav is
based on complaints by five women who allege he made unwanted sexual advances toward them during his tenure as president, and before that as a government minister.
Complaints by five other women are not being pursued because the statute of limitations has run out, the reports said.
The investigation of Katsav began earlier this year after a
former employee alleged he forced her to have sex under the threat of dismissal.
Police repeatedly questioned Katsav at his official residence and seized personal documents.