Contractor Linked to Likud Under Investigation for Asset Concealment in Economic Crime Probe

A contractor affiliated with the Likud party, currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, was questioned on Monday by the Lahav 433 unit as part of an investigation involving current and former Likud members. The contractor was filmed by ynet leaving the interrogation at the National Economic Crime Investigation Unit (YAL"K), where he accused others involved of fraud and vowed they would pay a heavy price. "There is a group of swindlers, thieves, who want to take money twice from a person and think they can silence him," he said.

Earlier, police announced that officers from YAL"K at Lahav 433, together with the official overseeing bankruptcy and economic rehabilitation, detained several businessmen, including the bankrupt contractor, on suspicion of hiding ownership rights in real estate assets and smuggling assets. Among those detained were a former Likud Knesset member who currently holds a senior position and others linked to Likud both past and present. The suspects were released after questioning in the afternoon.

Police stated that the contractor, bankrupt since 2012, allegedly concealed ownership of various real estate properties worth tens of millions of shekels and smuggled assets under his control during the bankruptcy process, violating his duty to disclose assets. The investigation revealed that the suspects acted in a sophisticated and systematic manner to hide their rights from authorities and amass large sums of money. Following the transition to an open investigation and the suspects' detention, significant assets were seized for potential confiscation in the legal process.

This probe comes amid heightened tensions within Likud ahead of the party primaries, after the Likud Central Committee approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Haim Katz's proposal granting Netanyahu eight reserved spots on the party's Knesset list and changing primary rules. Katz's initiative, supported by Netanyahu, allowing ministers and current MKs to run in districts passed narrowly by two votes. Yesterday, ynet reported that the Likud court is examining allegations that Netanyahu's party leadership vote was forged.