Police Find Evidence to Indict Former Tax Authority Officials in Major Corruption Case

Israeli police and the Tax Authority have compiled sufficient evidence to indict 11 suspects, including former senior public officials from the Tax Authority, in a significant corruption case. The investigation, led by the National Fraud Investigations Unit of Lahav 433 and the Central District Tax Investigator's Office, uncovered allegations of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering.

The investigation, which became public in July with the arrest of four suspects, revealed a long-standing "bribery system" operating for years in several central district branches of the Tax Authority. According to suspicions, private businessmen paid off Tax Authority employees with approximately NIS 10-15 million in cash and benefits. In return, these employees allegedly facilitated fraudulent tax refund claims totaling around NIS 80 million.

Two key suspects, Boris Gurvich, former deputy tax assessor in Petah Tikva, and Shashon Cohen, former team leader in the Petah Tikva tax assessor's office, were arrested at the outset of the public investigation. Both were subsequently released to house arrest for 14 days. The police and Tax Authority announced that evidence has been gathered to indict them for taking bribes over several years from an accountant representing taxpayers and for jointly perpetrating large-scale fraud against authorities, defrauding the state of over NIS 80 million.

The investigation initially focused on acts committed in 2018-2019 and began as a fraud case. However, suspicions of bribery, involving a former senior official comparable to a deputy district commander, led to the case being transferred to the National Fraud Investigations Unit. Investigators gathered evidence during the covert phase, detailing how bribes were given to tax officials who then assisted the bribe-givers in submitting fictitious business reports to claim excessive tax refunds from the state. The scheme involved individual officials acting independently but with mutual awareness of the system, facilitating fraudulent refunds totaling approximately NIS 80 million.

The case file has now been transferred to the Tax and Economic Crimes Prosecution for a decision on whether to file indictments. The prosecution will review the findings and decide on the next legal steps.