Israel's State Prosecutor Considers Indicting Petah Tikva Mayor for Bribery

By ישראל זאב לוונטהל לוונטהל

Translated & summarized from JDN by baba

Religious

Hebrew · 8 newsrooms covering

Israel's State Prosecutor's Office is considering indicting Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg, the municipality's Director-General Yaniv Benita, and eight others on charges including bribery and fraud. The investigation centers on alleged benefits exceeding one million shekels received by Greenberg during his 2018 election campaign, potentially funded by businessmen in exchange for favors. Some suspects are also accused of concealing funding sources and using forged documents. The probe was a joint effort by the police and tax authority.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg and Director-General Yaniv Benita may face bribery charges.
The State Prosecutor's Office is considering indicting Greenberg and eight others.
Greenberg allegedly received over 1 million shekels in benefits during his 2018 campaign.
Businessmen are suspected of funding the campaign in exchange for public favors.
Some suspects allegedly used forged documents to hide campaign funding sources.

Israel's State Prosecutor Considers Indicting Petah Tikva Mayor for Bribery — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Israel's State Prosecutor's Office is considering indicting Rami Greenberg, the Mayor of Petah Tikva, along with the municipality's Director-General Yaniv Benita and eight other suspects. The potential charges include bribery, fraud, breach of trust, forgery, and tax offenses, depending on each individual's alleged involvement. The investigation suggests that during the 2018 mayoral election campaign, Greenberg received benefits exceeding one million shekels. Prosecutors suspect that businessmen and associates funded his campaign expenses in exchange for actions he performed or promised to perform in his public capacity, both during and after his election.

Benita is suspected of giving bribes to Greenberg. Furthermore, the State Prosecutor's Office believes some of the involved parties attempted to conceal payments and provided false information to the State Comptroller regarding campaign funding sources, allegedly using forged documents. Among the businessmen suspected of bribery are Moshe Saadoun, Natanel Zer, and Amnon Ben Ami. Moshe Greenberg, attorneys Tal Gershtein and Shai Partush, and Nir Benita are suspected of involvement in presenting false information about the election funding.

The investigation was conducted by the National Fraud Investigations Unit of the Israel Police and the "Yahalom" unit of the Tax Authority. A gag order is in effect regarding the details of a state's witness agreement and any information that could identify the witness.

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