The Israel Police recommending indicting Ramat Gan mayor Zvi Bar on charges of corruption and money laundering. He is suspected of accepting bribers from property developers and people with interests in the city in exchange for promoting their real estate projects.
At the end of a two-and-a-half-year investigation, the Police National Fraud Unit found evidentiary grounds against Bar for accepting bribes, aggravated fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
The police said that many persons involved in the case had been questioned, and that evidence had been collected in Israel and overseas. The Fraud Unit was assisted by a team from the Office of the State Prosecutor's economics division. The file has been formally handed over to the State Prosecutor for a decision on whether to indict Bar.
The Ramat Gan Municipality has said in the past, "The mayor has never accepted, nor given, a bribe or benefit to any developer, not even NIS 100. The mayor is convinced of his innocence, and he has full confidence in the legal authorities. All the projects built in the city are solely for the benefit of the city and its residents. They were built pursuant to all legal permits, including those now under investigation."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 22, 2010
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