4 November 2019
Israeli police arrested 10 and detained nine others for questioning on Monday on suspicion of involvement in bribery, fraud, money laundering, income tax offenses and other financial crimes. Police said two of the suspects were senior officials, including one aide to a cabinet minister.
Police did not reveal the names of the municipality or suspects. Hebrew-language media reported that the police believe that these suspects received bribes in exchange for contracts awarded.
Officers of the National Financial Investigations Unit of the Lahav 433 in conjunction with the Central District Attorney’s criminal department conducted months of undercover investigations before arrests were made. As part of the investigation, police on Monday confiscated documents from the Ministry of Environmental Protection in Jerusalem.
Those held for questioning included a mayor, a former mayor, a local municipal leader, a former ministerial aide and a well-known contractor.
Times of Israel reported.