A new corruption scandal has emerged at Israel Railways. The Israel Police Central District Fraud Squad today arrested Israel Railways national workers committee chairman Shaul Okish, deputy chairman Micha Hayoun, former Israel Railways VP human resources Yitzhak Sari, and the owner of a vendor to Israel Railways in a bribery case at the workers committee.
The police this morning raided a number of offices of the Israel Railways workers committee in Lod and Tel Aviv, seized documents, and detained four suspects for questioning. The raids were the culmination of an undercover investigation launched in June.
The Israel Railways workers committee officials are suspected of accepting bribes, in the form of so-called entry fees amounting to thousands of shekels by people seeking employment at the company. They are also suspected of accepting bribes from service vendors in exchange for tailoring tenders and ensuring wins by the vendors.
The investigation was partly based on a report by the Office of the State Comptroller, which found that Israel Railways had paid Okish and his deputy excessive salaries on dates close to the signing of collective labor contracts.
Israel Railways said in response, "The police investigation relates to events that took place under the previous management. Some of the parties involved are no longer employed by the company. The new management will fully cooperate with the police."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 15, 2008
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