2 IDF officers, 10 civilians suspected of defrauding army of ‘huge sums’

Twelve suspects, including two IDF officers, were detained on Monday for suspected bribery and fraud following an extended investigation into the alleged mismanagement of military bases, police said.

According to a statement, the 10 civilian suspects, who were employees of a company responsible for maintenance on army bases, are believed to have embezzled “huge sums” of public funds by “taking payment for work that was never carried out.”

Meanwhile, the IDF officers — a lieutenant colonel and a major — are suspected of willfully ignoring the theft and becoming “partners” to the crime, police said.

The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suspects were not placed under arrest on Monday, but were only brought in for questioning, a police spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that it was “too early to talk about an indictment.”

The undercover investigation conducted by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 anti-fraud unit took more than a year before necessary evidence was collected in order to bring in the 12 suspects, police said.

According to investigators, the suspects have repeatedly, and over the course of several years, demanded payment for work that was never carried out.

Officials did not specify how much money they believed was collected in this way, but said it amounted to “huge sums.”

The suspects’ offices were also searched on Monday, with police seizing computers and documents.

The names of the suspects, as well as any information that could identify them, were placed under a court-issued gag order.

Police said the suspects would be brought before a judge in the Rishon Lezion District Court to face a request that they remain in police custody.