Court Extends Detention of Tiberias Football Club Budget Controller
The Rishon LeZion Magistrates' Court extended the detention of Yael Bar, budget controller for Ironi Dorot Tiberias, amid a multimillion-shekel financial crime investigation.
Court Extends Detention of Ironi Dorot Tiberias Budget Controller
The Rishon LeZion Magistrates' Court extended by four days the detention of 55-year-old Yael Bar, the budget controller for the Ironi Dorot Tiberias football club. Bar is suspected of involvement in a massive financial crime case totaling tens of millions of shekels, involving alleged double contracts, tax offenses, and money laundering.
According to police representatives, Bar played a central role in the alleged criminal mechanism spanning four football seasons in the National and Liga Alef leagues. The suspected offenses include fraud, corporate document falsification, forgery, money laundering, tax evasion, and violations of the National Insurance Law, Wage Protection Law, and Associations Law. Police Inspector Mari Peretz Boganim stated during the hearing that Bar was an authorized signatory on the club's bank accounts and deeply involved in player signings and financial transactions.
Defense Arguments and Police Position
Bar's defense attorney, Eldan Danino, strongly contested the remand, emphasizing her clean record and lack of prior criminal involvement.
She is a 55-year-old grandmother, a kibbutz member who has never been in trouble with the law, not even a parking ticket, Danino argued.
Judge Menachem Mizrahi ruled that a reasonable suspicion links Bar to the offenses, citing a tangible risk of witness tampering and obstruction of justice that necessitates the continuation of her detention while investigators pursue additional investigative steps.
