Police now suspect embattled minister Golan of accepting bribes — reports

Police investigators believe enough evidence has accumulated against Social Equality Minister May Golan to investigate her on suspicion of accepting bribes under aggravated circumstances and receiving improper benefits, according to new reports.

Channel 12 and Ynet reported over the weekend that investigators now believe they have evidence implicating the minister in such criminal offenses, after initially suspecting her of the offenses of fraud and breach of trust.

A senior police official told Channel 12: “We have a solid basis and quite a bit of evidence pointing to the minister’s acceptance of bribes and receipt of undue benefits.”

Golan was accused Thursday of spiriting her mother away from a Tel Aviv police station in the middle of her questioning in the case that involved Golan and her staff. Multiple media outlets reported that when mother Rimona asked to go to the bathroom after several hours of questioning, she met up with her daughter who had arrived at the station, and the minister then escorted the elderly woman off the premises while shouting at police officers.

A senior official involved in the investigation told the TV network: “The minister’s behavior during her mother’s interrogation has given us the impression that she simply came to ensure that her mother remained silent in the investigation and did not incriminate her. This is behavior typical of criminals, exploiting the immunity the minister enjoys.”

Golan is suspected of fraud, misusing public funds for private purposes, creating fictitious positions in the Social Equality Ministry and concealing sources of funding. The case cracked wide open on Monday when police raided her office and arrested six of her associates.

She was accused of enabling widespread nepotism and of dubious fundraising activities in a TV report that first aired in January, and police were granted the go-ahead a month later to open an investigation into the minister.

According to an Israel Police statement on Monday, Golan is accused of using  nonprofit organizations and government systems as a “tool for illegally extracting funds.”

Golan, a right-wing firebrand who first gained public attention by campaigning against illegal migrants in her home neighborhood in south Tel Aviv, has denied the accusations.

The minister has herself been summoned for police questioning but has so far refused to show up. Golan has told the press that she will only do so once her associates are released.

The investigation into Golan’s alleged misuse of ministry funds was opened in February this year following a Channel 12 News exposé, which alleged she created fake positions for relatives of friends and influential colleagues, who did no actual work in the ministry.

These supposed employees at the ministry included the wife of Golan’s long-time legal adviser, who runs a dog grooming business but was also listed as a salaried employee in her office. The attorney himself had been paid thousands of shekels to prepare legal documents that were never filed, Channel 12 reported earlier this year.

The report also accused Golan of using parliamentary aides for personal tasks in contravention of Knesset protocol, claiming aides were sent to drive her mother around, buy her food, collect packages and distribute gifts to friends.

In late August, Channel 12 reported that Golan and several prominent figures in Israeli social-welfare groups engineered an elaborate deal in which her ministry would give money to ZAKA for a program ostensibly aimed at aiding the elderly, while in reality, the money would go to her and associates.

Prosecutors’ decision to greenlight the investigation prompted a fiery response at the time from Golan and coalition politicians, who accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Prosecutor Amit Aisman of selective enforcement against right-wing politicians.

Charlie Summers contributed to this report.