Ramat Gan city hall upended by major bribery bust
Police arrest 20 suspects, including senior municipality figures, on suspicion of corruption
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Several senior officials from Ramat Gan’s city hall were arrested Monday morning as anti-fraud police raided the Tel Aviv suburb amid suspicions of bribery surrounding municipal council elections.
During the raid 20 people were detained for questioning and offices and private homes were searched by police from the special investigative unit Lahav 433, it was announced.
Among the suspects detained were a number of senior municipal staff members.
The wide-scale move followed a yearlong undercover operation that began after police received information indicating that municipality jobs had been offered in return for support of one of the candidates in municipal council elections that were held in October 2013.
Police did not release the name of the figure at the heart of the allegations or identify any of the other suspects.
During the undercover operation police said they also uncovered efforts by an organized crime ring to infiltrate the ranks of the city’s administration.
Ramat Gan, a city of 120,000, sits to the east of Tel Aviv. The suburb houses a large business district that includes the Israel Diamond Exchange.
Police say they will decide after questioning the suspects whether or not to press charges on a range of crimes including bribery offenses, election bribery, fraud and breach of trust, money laundering and tax fraud.
