Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit says he will file a second indictment against Likud MK Haim Katz, pending a hearing, on suspicion he failed to pay millions of shekels in taxes he owed for rent payments he earned on a number of apartments.
Katz, who already faces fraud and breach of trust charges, is alleged to have hidden income totaling NIS 2.2 million (around $650,000) over the course of 12 years.
Responding to the charges, Katz says, “I hope that after the hearing we will leave behind us all of the false accusations against me and that will be the end of this persecution.”
He further claims that “the issue of the taxes has been blown out of proportion. No other Israeli citizen has been indicted under similar circumstances. I am certain [the] justice will out.”
In February, Katz received parliamentary immunity to shield himself from the earlier charges of fraud and breach of trust, which center on allegations that he allegedly advanced a bill on corporate bond repayment pushed by a financial consultant who was a close friend and financial adviser to him.
Mandelblit has urged the High Court of Justice to overturn the decision and allow the former welfare minister to be prosecuted.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2020
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