Health Minister Yaakov Litzman arrives at the weekly government conference at the PM's office in Jerusalem on October 15, 2017. (Alex Kolomoisky/POOL)
For over a year, police have been conducting a covert investigation into suspicions of corruption within the Health Ministry.
The Lahav 433 national crime unit has been looking into suspicions that lobbyists were able to gain access to the highest echelons of the ministry through payments of thousands of shekels to middlemen, Hadashot TV news reported Thursday.
The investigation was launched following a January 2017 Hadashot exposé during which an undercover reporter was able to set up a meeting with then-health minister Yaakov Litzman to seek legislative support to promote a fictitious e-cigarette company after paying an intermediary thousands of shekels in cash.
The meetings with Litzman, who is currently deputy health minister but still the top official in the ministry, and his number two, Itamar Grotto, were reportedly facilitated by Motti Babchik, the minister’s senior assistant and close confidant.
Then health minister Yaakov Litzman secretly filmed by Hadashot news undercover reporter welcoming fictitious lobbyist who paid cash for access in January 2017. (Screen capture: Hadashot news)
Hadashot estimated that the police investigation has also been extended to other bodies and companies that may have tried to promote their affairs in the Health Ministry.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Responding to last year’s report, Litzman insisted he knew nothing about the payments given to the mediators in order to meet with him.
He insisted to Hadashot that he “met with anyone who wanted to meet with him.”
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
