Following the investigation against Likud party MK David Bitan, the Israel Police Lahav 443 major crimes unit is recommending a criminal indictment against him for crimes including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Bitan was in a powerful position in Knesset, serving as the chairman of the coalition. It is being reported that most of the money was used by Bitan to extricate himself from debts to loan sharks.

The case, which is called ‘1803’, deals with the activities of the MK between the years of 2011 and 2017, when Bitan, Arnon Giladi and Dov Tzur allegedly received benefits from private individuals, and in exchange for those benefits/favors, they worked to advance the interests of certain individuals.

According to police, at the onset of the period mentioned above, MK Bitan held a number of senior positions in the Rishon L’Tzion Municipality, and he was in a position to assist people if he so desired. For example, he was the head of the local planning and building committee, and beginning in March 2015, he was serving as a member Knesset. During that period, Arnon Giladi served in a number of senior positions in the Tel Aviv municipality, including a deputy mayoral post and a member of the planning and building committee. Dov Tzur was mayor of Rishon L’Tzion.

Police point out that the investigation is quite complex, as hundreds of interrogations were carried out, testimony was taken from over 300 witnesses, and approximately 80 suspects were interrogated. A total of 650 documents were seized in the affair, dozens of venues were searched, and tens of millions of shekels were seized in the process.

At the end of the investigation, police are announcing that sufficient evidence has been gathered and established in the case to back to suspicions against dozens of persons involved, including the MK, whom against there is sufficient evidence in 12 of the incidents that were probed. The allegations against him include money laundering, fraud, breach of trust, and various tax offenses, which were allegedly committed from 2011 to 2017.

Police Report the following:
“The findings of the investigation revealed that MK Bitan, in the framework of his various public functions, both during the period when he was deputy mayor of Rishon L’tzion and during the period in which he served as MK, received cash bribes in an amount of hundreds of thousands of shekels, as well as a promise to receive apartments for activities related to his job. In return, MK Bitan exerted his authority, influence, power and connections on various factors, leading to changes in decisions, the granting of permits of various types, and the reduction of municipal payments. The change also led to a legal opinion by professionals in the Tel Aviv Municipality, a catalyst in the process of payment of debts, etc.

“In the course of his activities, MK Bitan initiated meetings in the Knesset and in the municipalities, approached the decision-makers, and invested considerable efforts in this endeavor, in order to promote the interests of the business entities in whose service he acted. Below are some examples of cases in which prima facie evidence of offenses was found.

“In the framework of the Danya Cebus affair, an evidentiary basis was established that in the years 2013-2015, Ronen Ginzburg, the CEO of the company, gave NIS 430,000 as a bribe to MK Bitan and another person, in order to promote Danya Cebus’ with the Rishon L’tzion Municipality and the Ministry of Transportation, which are connected to a plan to build a gas station at the Ein Hakore Interchange on Highway 431, and to the tender relating to Highway 38.

” In the context of an affair involving real estate developers, an evidentiary infrastructure was established that over the years 2011-2017, MK Bitan and Arnon Giladi helped entrepreneurs promote permits and licenses for three real estate projects in Tel Aviv with various municipal officials. In return for advancing the projects, a bribe of NIS 385,000 was given, and some of the bribes were disguised by fictitious invoices.

In addition, MK Bitan handled many other cases, including the large Kolbo food chain, in exchange for tens of thousands of shekels in bribes from each of them. He also found that during his tenure as a MK, he continued to arrive at the Rishon L’tzion municipality, receiving bribes given in the form of donations and some were disguised by fictitious invoices, and in one case, a promise was made for real estate.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)