Police in Israel are questioning Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a second time in a corruption investigation.

Prosecutors say they suspect Mr Olmert misused large amounts of cash received from a US businessman when he was mayor of Jerusalem.

Earlier this month Mr Olmert denied any wrongdoing, saying the money he had received was to be used to fund political campaigns.

He has said he would resign if he is formally charged.

Morris Talansky - a New York-based financier - is said to have given hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to Mr Olmert at a series of meetings in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Mr Olmert said Mr Talansky had helped him raise funds for election campaigns but he insisted everything had been legal.

Mr Talansky has also said all his actions on behalf of Mr Olmert were legal.

Mr Olmert became prime minister in 2006 after being minister for industry and trade from 2003-2006 and mayor of Jerusalem from 1993-2003.

The police investigation has cast doubt on Mr Olmert's ability to press forward with talks with the Palestinians and Syria.

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Olmert

BBC