Israel Police has recommended that the State Prosecutor indict 40 individuals and 11 companies in the Netivei Israel National Transport Infrastructure Ltd. bribery case. The suspects include two former CEOs Alex Wiznitzer (2003-2010) and Shai Baras (2011-2013), a former Deputy CEO Michael Kopolovsky and former Likud MK Michael Gorlovsky.
Netivei Israel is a government-owned company responsible for planning, building and maintaining Israel's inter-city highways as well as the railway infrastructure, with an annual budget of NIS 7 billion. Most of this money is paid to external contractors who undertake the development, construction and maintenance work.
The police announcement from yesterday alleges that there was a web of sub-scandals forming an overall picture in which there were systematic mechanisms for bribery in exchange for projects and inflating existing projects by submitting false reports. As part of the investigations property and assets worth NIS 100 million were seized.
It was no secret that over the years many political appointments were made at Netivei Israel. The criminal investigation allegedly found that those political connections were soon translated into business connections with in many instances public money becoming the tradable commodity.
Some of the leading figures in the case such as Wiznitzer are considered close associates of Minister of Defense and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman. Wiznitzer was appointed Netivei Israel CEO in 2003 when Liberman was Minister of Transport. Two companies controlled by former Likud MK Gorlovsky's allegedly fraudulently received NIS 55 million for work carried out for Netivei Israel. The Police claim Gorlovsky paid bribes to senior executives at Netivei Israel for the work. The Poice also found many more such instances of bribery for work contracts.
Advs. Nati Simchony and Ilana Zibenberg of Herzog Fox & Neeman Law Firm who are representing Wiznitzer said, "In our opinion the Israel Police recommendation on Wiznitzer is not based on anything. The charges are alien both to Wiznitzer's lifestyle and his personality and there is nothing to them. He is sure that the State Prosecutor will reach an intelligent conclusion that his conduct was flawless."
Advs. Ofer Bartal and Sagi Blumenthal of Bartal Cohen Advocates who are representing Kopolovsky said, "There is no clause anywhere in the law which authorizes the police to make any sort of recommendations. Their job is just to investigate. The State Prosecutor will decide what to do with the case. Therefore, the police recommendations are void of content and contain nothing but public relations and advertising. The fact is that the police did not recommend charging Kopolovsky with bribery, extortion with threats or any tax offenses. The recommendation is far narrower and just as the suspicions against him were reduced during the investigation, they will completely disappear once the Prosecutor delves deeply into the thick of the case."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 1, 2016
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