Kfar Saba Mayor and Wife Suspected in Multi-Million Shekel Bribery Scheme

The head of the Kfar Saba Municipality, Rafi Saar, and his wife, Mital Ben-Adi, are suspected of receiving bribes, fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and tax offenses as part of a large-scale corruption investigation in central Israel. Sources familiar with the investigation told N12 that the case involves projects worth tens of millions of shekels. On Monday morning, October 12, 17 people were arrested by officers from the National Fraud Investigation Unit (Lahav 433), including the mayor, his wife, and the CEO of an economic company whose name has not yet been released. The covert investigation into the suspects has been ongoing for over a year.

According to police, the scheme involved businessmen and criminal elements receiving lucrative contracts in exchange for cash payments to the mayor. Saar's wife, Mital Ben-Adi, allegedly acted as an intermediary, directly communicating with interested businessmen. Projects under scrutiny include urban renewal, food trucks, transportation, street lighting, city cleaning, and school renovations. Investigators believe the couple attempted to conceal information about rigged tenders from the city council, with the help of the unnamed economic company CEO who obstructed businesses not part of the corrupt arrangement.

Investigators also found that the couple lived beyond their official means, with expensive clothing, designer items, jewelry, and foreign trips allegedly paid for in cash. Rafi Saar is also suspected of using criminal elements to solicit votes and of threatening entrepreneurs who did not participate in the alleged scheme, attempting to force them to withdraw from tenders. Large sums of money were discovered during searches of the suspects' homes and businesses. The investigation is ongoing.