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Police Investigate Two Transport Ministry Officials for Conflict of Interest
Israeli police have launched a criminal investigation into two senior officials at the Ministry of Transport over alleged conflicts of interest. The probe centers on Avri Cohen, the head of the Security Department, and Dvir Rubinstein, the director of the Aviation Security Operations Center. Both officials are suspected of holding unauthorized or conflicting outside employment while tasked with supervising aviation security.
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What happened
- 01Israeli police are criminally investigating Ministry of Transport officials Avri Cohen and Dvir Rubinstein for conflicts of interest.
- 02The investigation follows a security lapse on a Flydubai flight involving an Omani co-pilot and an attempted hijacking.
- 03Avri Cohen allegedly worked for eight years as an unauthorized overseas security officer for Israeli airlines.
- 04Former Ministry of Transport Director-General Keren Turner denied Cohen's claim that she approved his outside employment.
- 05Dvir Rubinstein allegedly provided paid consulting to Flydubai and Emirates through his private company, Smart Security.
- 06Rubinstein was responsible for regulating and supervising the security of the same foreign airlines he advised.
- 07The Ministry of Transport ordered Cohen to cease his external work but stated Rubinstein's work was legally approved.
The investigation was prompted by a security lapse on a Flydubai flight to Israel, which was linked to an attempted hijacking. The incident revealed that an Omani co-pilot, a citizen of a country with which Israel has no diplomatic relations, served on the flight. Senior security officials blamed the Ministry of Transport's security department for failing to prevent the lapse.
Cohen is accused of working for eight years as an overseas security officer for Israeli airlines without approval from the Civil Service Commission. While Cohen claimed he had approval from former Director-General Keren Turner, she and other former officials denied this. Behadrei Haredim reported that Cohen also allegedly received private payments from Flydubai. The Ministry of Transport has ordered Cohen to halt his external work.
Rubinstein, an outsourced contractor, is accused of providing paid consulting and training to foreign airlines, including Flydubai and Emirates, through his private company, Smart Security. These were the very airlines he was responsible for regulating. The Ministry of Transport stated that Rubinstein's outside work was legally approved and conducted during off-hours.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 7 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: 0404. Read 0404’s original
The coverage
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Who covered it
- Left1
- Centre2
- Right2
- Haredi1
- ArabNone
- Other3
