Massive raid: Negev local council head arrested on corruption charges

A new corruption case in a local authority in the south was exposed today (Monday). Officers of the National Unit for Combating Economic Crime in Lahav 433 arrested a sitting council head in the Negev, his family members, and other senior officials on suspicion of a series of offenses, including bribery, bid-rigging, fraud, and fictitious employment. In total, seven people were arrested and six others were detained for questioning, while searches were conducted simultaneously at the council's offices.

The arrests were carried out at the end of a covert investigation conducted in recent months by the task force dealing with tenders in Lahav 433, in cooperation with the Southern District of the Police. This morning, the investigation moved to the overt phase, and numerous forces raided several locations and arrested the suspects.

According to the suspicion, those involved committed bribery offenses through bid-rigging, fraud, and breach of trust. In addition, a suspicion is being investigated regarding the fictitious employment of workers in the council, as part of a mechanism designed to fraudulently extract funds from it and transfer them to the suspects' private pockets.

Participating in the operation alongside the Lahav 433 investigators were officers from the Southern District, fighters from the Matpa unit, the National Guard of the Border Police, the Tactical Brigade, and the Gideonim 33 unit. The investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the Tax Authority and the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority. The case is being accompanied by the Economic Department of the State Attorney's Office. The suspects are expected to be brought later today to the Magistrate's Court in Rishon LeZion, where the police will request to extend their detention.

The police stated that this is "another significant governance activity in the series of actions by the Israel Police against crime and criminals in the Bedouin sector in the Negev, who are trying to turn official law enforcement authorities into outposts of crime and a platform for criminal activities."