Prominent architect reportedly suspected of bribing Likud MK

Police detained for questioning Tuesday an architect from the coastal city of Rishon Lezion on suspicion that he had bribed former coalition whip Likud MK David Bitan, Hebrew media reports said.

Bitan, who stepped down as coalition whip after it was revealed he was being investigated, but is still a Knesset member, is suspected of receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels in bribes, both while serving as deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion and later, as a member of parliament.

The architect, who was not named in the report but was described as “well-known,” was questioned in light of information state witnesses in the case gave investigators from Israel Police’s Lahav 433 national fraud unit. It was not clear if the man had also been placed under arrest.

Bitan was interrogated for the seventh time by police last month and chose to remain silent, as he had done in three previous interviews. The reason for his silence, according to Hadashot TV news, was that his demand to confront the two main witnesses incriminating him, Moshe Yosef and Dror Glazer, was declined.

Investigators reportedly hold specific information on how the suspected bribes and money transfers were handled, after they received testimony from furniture store owner Yosef, a key suspect in the case who is said to be in talks to turn state’s witness. Bitan was confronted with Yosef’s testimony during an interrogation on January 28.

Whereas the initial suspicion was that Bitan had received most of the bribes while serving as deputy mayor of the coastal city of Rishon Lezion, Yosef’s testimony has indicated that payments continued after Bitan became a Knesset member in 2015, Haaretz reported in January.

In a major development, Yosef gave detailed testimony, telling investigators that the bribes were frequent, including during the past five years, the report said. Yosef told investigators that he had delivered hundreds of thousands of shekels to Bitan during visits the Likud lawmaker made to Yosef’s Metzada furniture store.

Yosef is thought to have acted as the go-between for Bitan and businesspeople, handing over money and keeping a percentage for himself, apparently as payment for large loans he gave to Bitan at a time when the politician was heavily in debt. Police have referred to him as Bitan’s “banker.”

The investigation, dubbed Case 1803, has seen the arrests of a number of suspects, including Rishon Lezion’s mayor and other city officials, local businessmen, and organized crime figures.