Ex-Israeli Prison Official Convicted of Bribery and Theft

A district court in Lod convicted Arkady Shchokovitsky, a former construction officer in the Prisons Service's central district, on Monday of numerous offenses including bribery, theft by a public servant, and money laundering. The conviction stems from the "Money Cage" case, which began in 2020. The court found that Shchokovitsky exploited his authority and the dependency of contractors who won tenders with the Prisons Service to establish a corrupt system. He dictated to main contractors the subcontractors to be used at Prisons Service facilities, influenced pricing, and sometimes inflated bids to generate illicit profits for himself and the contractors. In some instances, he took checks intended for subcontractors, thereby increasing his control over them. Shchokovitsky demanded inflated bid amounts to enrich himself and also had private work done at his home, partly funded by the Prisons Service budget. He was convicted of receiving bribes and theft totaling approximately NIS 350,000, as well as money laundering offenses. Additionally, he was convicted of tax offenses for undeclared income from bribes and theft, and for rental income omitted from his tax reports. Arkady Shchokovitsky and his wife, Natalia Shchokovitsky, rented out numerous properties and failed to report rental income to the tax authorities, leading to their conviction on tax charges. The court's decision, spanning over 300 pages, followed a lengthy process including 25 evidentiary hearings and testimony from many witnesses. Shchokovitsky was partially acquitted of two charges and rejected his claims of a setup and harassment by Prisons Service officials. The case also led to indictments against seven other defendants, who were convicted for their roles in bribery and money laundering.