Court Extends Remand of Contractor in Multimillion-Shekel IDF Fraud Case
A Beersheba court extended the remand of contractor Shalom Sisu amid a multimillion-shekel fraud investigation involving infrastructure work and fuel theft for the IDF in the Gaza Strip.
The Beersheba Magistrate's Court extended the remand of Shalom Sisu, a contractor from Yavne suspected of involvement in a multimillion-shekel fraud case involving the IDF, by four days on Thursday. The police had requested an eight-day extension. Two other suspects in the case, Ran Rahmani and Zaidan Abu Ammar, were released to house arrest under restrictive conditions.
Remand and Court Proceedings
The released suspects must remain under family supervision for seven days, though Judge Eran Sabri permitted them to leave on October 27, 2026, to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming Knesset elections. Sisu's defense attorneys, Avshalom Ahrak and Boaz Hamami, repeatedly pressed the police prosecutor during the hearing to specify the exact suspicions against their client. However, investigator Haim Elyasi directed them to the documents submitted to the court, stating that the suspicions were detailed in the remand request.
When pressed further on the specific actions attributed to Sisu, Elyasi stated that the suspect is accused of issuing and offsetting fictitious invoices and fuel theft, noting that fuel was not actually supplied. Ahrak argued that the economic offenses attributed to his client appeared exaggerated and that hundreds of people are investigated for such offenses without being detained. "If an indictment is filed, we will deal with it. However, there is no strengthening of evidence here, certainly not for violent crimes. Obstruction of justice is not a magic word," Ahrak said.
Suspect's Testimony and Judge's Decision
Given the opportunity to speak, Sisu broke down in tears, stating that he does not speak Arabic and is struggling with his detention conditions. "I feel like I'm dead, that I'm terrified, that they took everything from me," he said, asking to be transferred to the Shikma Prison.
Judge Sabri acknowledged the suspect's distress but emphasized the necessity of the ongoing investigation into the high-profile case. The judge ordered Sisu's remand extended until October 26, 2026, while instructing the police to transfer him to a wing with more Hebrew speakers.
Background of the Investigation
The massive financial fraud investigation was exposed earlier in the week when investigators from the Lahav 433 southern district economic unit, the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID), and the Beersheba VAT office arrested 21 suspects. The arrests included civilians linked to contracting companies and career soldiers in the IDF.
The central suspicion revolves around a fraudulent mechanism allegedly operated during infrastructure work carried out for the IDF in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war. According to the investigation, civilian contractors exploited their operations in the territory to siphon off millions of schekels through fuel theft, fictitious invoices, and bribery directed at career non-commissioned officers.
