Former cabinet minister and MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is rejecting the plea bargain agreement offered in his fraud trial, apparently due to the stiff fine included in the deal. Charges against the former cabinet minister include breach of trust, bribery, money laundering and fraud. If found guilty, he faces imprisonment but if he signs the plea bargain agreement, he would be spared jail as the state is willing to drop the charges of bribery and money laundering, the more serious charges against him, taking his difficult medical condition into consideration. However, he would have to pay a steep fine, close to NIS 10 million, Channel 10 News reported.

Ben-Eliezer is on dialysis and has other medical issues, leading the state to show leniency against him. He was indicted in December 2015 and his health has taken a sharp turn for the worse since. However, the report adds that Ben-Eliezer is unwilling to accept the stiff fine that is part of the plea bargain agreement. It remains to be seen if the state will offer him a better deal.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)