Police Send Diplomatic Passport Probe to Prosecutors, Say Evidence Exists

Israel’s Lahav 433 fraud unit, through its National Fraud Investigations Unit (Yahab), has finished its investigation into Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in the diplomatic passport affair and on Wednesday transferred the file to the State Attorney’s Office. Police say the investigation found an evidentiary basis against Cohen, his former ministry director general, and his assistant, and prosecutors will now decide whether to file an indictment.

According to police sources, the file contains evidence suggesting Cohen committed offenses when he served as foreign minister by helping associates, including Yair Netanyahu, obtain passports in violation of procedure. Investigators said, however, that the case is not clear-cut legally. After the investigation was completed, Lahav 433 chief Maj. Gen. Meni Binyamin sent the case summary to the head of the Investigation and Intelligence Division, Maj. Gen. Boaz Balt, who approved it and ordered it forwarded for prosecutorial review.

The investigation began in January 2024 and has included questioning dozens of people and seizing many documents. Five months ago, Yahab investigators raided the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem for a second time after new developments in the case, arriving with a search warrant and taking documents and minutes from meetings. One ministry employee was detained for questioning at Lahav 433.

In October, News 13 first reported that former Foreign Ministry director general Ronen Levi, also known as Maoz, was questioned under caution in the affair, a month after Cohen himself was summoned for questioning under caution. Cohen denied any wrongdoing, saying he would answer all questions and that the investigation should never have been opened. He said only four passports were issued during his tenure as foreign minister, that Yair Netanyahu’s passport was renewed repeatedly for security reasons since 2009, and that passports were also issued to three mayors who had formally requested them because of international activity tied to their roles.