The hearings on the extension of the remand of the suspects in the public service corruption affair involving senior figures from the Yisrael Beitenu party, among them Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Fania Kirshenbaum and former minister Stas Misezhnikov, lasted well into the night. One by one, some 30 prominent figures in local government and NGOs were brought before the Rishon LeZion Magistrates Court, after being detained by police on suspicion of involvement of conducting relations of "give and take" between them serving their personal and political interests.
At the center of the investigation is the suspicion that Kirshenbaum, who is also secretary-general of Yisrael Beitenu (headed by Avigdor Liberman), received hundreds of thousands of shekels from heads of local authorities and NGOs in exchange for her assistance, and that the money was deposited in accounts of members of her family and of associates in order to conceal the transfers. The appointment of Kirshenbaum's daughter Ranit Kirshenbaum at the Israel Cattle Breeders Association is also being investigated, and she too has been placed under arrest.
Another associate of Kirshenbaum was arrested this morning. Presumably not all those who have been detained will ultimately be indicted, but the thought that this is how the State of Israel is run in 2014 is highly disturbing.
Kirshenbaum has been questioned under caution on suspicion of committing offenses of bribery, fraud and money laundering. Her interrogation lasted several hours yesterday at the Israel Police National Fraud Investigation Unit, and it continues today.
Walla! News reports that the police have sketched a pyramid for each of fifteen sub-cases, with Kirshenbaum at the tip of all of them, as the person who allegedly received the money into her bank account.
For example, in the affair of the Ayalim NGO, Kirshenbaum was at the head of the pyramid, with David Godovsky, the Yisrael Beiteinu chief of staff, below her: he was the go-between with the NGO, transferred public funds to it, and then received part of the money transferred, which wound up in Kirshenbaum's pocket.
At the next level in the pyramid is Ayalim director Matan Dahan. He allegedly received huge amounts of money from Kirshenbaum's ministry, and transferred part back again. A further suspicion being investigated is that in some of the cases, Kirshenbaum's children Tamir and Ranit, who were questioned yesterday, were the people who deposited the public funds in the accounts of the NGOs.
Stas Misezhnikov, former minister of tourism from Yisrael Beitenu, is suspected of skewing tenders, receiving bribes, and acting as a go-between for bribery. The new suspicions are in addition to previous ones that have been under investigation by the police for a long period. Misezhnikov's remand has been extended to January 1.
Gershon Masika (62), head of the Samaria Regional Council, is suspected of bribery, acting as a go-between for bribery, theft, and false accounting. His remand too has been extended to January 1.
Alex Wiznitzer, chairman of NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd. (the Tel Aviv area light rail project) is suspected of acting as a go-between for bribery. The police carried out a search of the NTA offices late last night. Wiznitzer has been remanded until January 1.
Yisrael Beitenu chief-of-staff David Godovsky has been arrested on suspicion of having been involved "up to the neck" in the alleged corruption affair. According to the police remand request, Godovsky is suspected of giving and taking bribes, acting as a go-between for bribes, conspiracy to commit a crime, and fraudulent receiving in aggravated circumstances.
Another prominent suspect in the corruption affair is former Israel Basketball Association chairman Avner Koppel, who is suspected of bribery, fraudulent receiving, and false accounting. Koppel is currently on the board of the Israel Football Association. In November, he was indicted along with senior managers of The Phoenix Holdings Ltd. (TASE: PHOE1;PHOE5) on charges of tax evasion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 25, 2014
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