State witness in the Tax Authority bribery case: "The fixer who connected income tax officials"
Police suspect that current and former employees facilitated the filing of false tax returns totaling approximately 80 million shekels. Investigators estimate that the tax officials involved received bribes totaling 15 million shekels, acting independently but with knowledge of one another's activities.
The police have successfully recruited a state witness in the case involving Tax Authority employees suspected of accepting bribes, it was permitted for publication this morning, Friday. According to officers from the National Fraud Investigation Unit (YAHAL) of Lahav 433, the recruited witness is the "fixer who connected taxpayers with income tax officials." His task was to facilitate the filing of tax returns for individuals who, according to the suspicion, submitted false expenses totaling approximately 80 million shekels.
The case was first exposed on Monday, following a covert investigation conducted since the beginning of 2024 by the National Fraud Investigation Unit, in cooperation with investigators from the Central Tax Investigation Office of the Tax Authority. Investigators arrested more than 10 suspects; three were released to house arrest, while the others were released after interrogation. The primary suspect held a senior position as a deputy tax assessor.
A statement from the police and the Tax Authority indicated that, as part of their duties, a number of employees took bribes and, in return, acted for years to facilitate the filing of false tax returns totaling tens of millions of shekels. With the transition to an open investigation, YAHAL officers conducted raids on the homes and offices of the suspects.
"The employees received bribes and in return recognized false expenses. The activity of each individual employee was independent, and at this stage, there is no suspicion that they operated as a network," the police noted.
The assessment among YAHAL investigators and the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office (Taxation and Economics) is that the Tax Authority employees received about 15 million shekels in total. It is suspected that each tax official acted independently but was aware of the others' actions.
The police also suspect that some of the bribe-givers were individuals who created fictitious businesses for the purpose of receiving tax refunds. The bribery method was simple: taxpayers inflated fictitious expenses in their submitted reports, which obligated the Tax Authority to issue refunds. The investigation began as a fraud inquiry regarding the state treasury, but as suspicions of bribery emerged, the case was transferred to YAHAL within Lahav 433.
