Seven Israeli military chiefs arrested over submarine corruption investigation involving Netanyahu

Israeli police arrested the former commander of the Israeli Navy on Tuesday, over his involvement in the submarine corruption scandal that has been linked to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Lahav 433 serious crime unit reportedly arrested Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom and six other people on allegations of accepting bribes.

"At the time of the events, some of the suspects involved were civil servants, while others worked in the private sector," the police said in a statement.

The investigation is related to the $1.5 billion sale of submarines to Israel by ThyssenKrupp, a German shipbuilder.

The deal was considered controversial at the time, as the Israeli media reported that the Iranian holding company, IFIC, owned a 4.5 percent stake in the firm.

"Israeli money, Iranian profits," read a headline in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth at the time of the deal.

Ex-defence minister, Moshe Ya'alon, gave evidence in January that Netanyahu was directly involved in negotiating the illicit purchase of submarines from ThyssenKrupp.

The police will summon Netanyahu for questioning over the case on Monday, Israel's Channel 2 reported.

Netanyahu's lawyer and close friend, David Shimron, has been released to house arrest in relation to the investigation.

The six people arrested on Monday, include the former deputy head of the National Security Council, Brigadier-General Avriel Bar-Yosef, and the Israeli representative of ThyssenKrupp, Miki Ganor.

The detained were held on suspicion of bribery, fraud, money laundering and tax offenses.