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Photo: Avi Moalem

Politicians pressure police to question 4 MKs snagged in corruption probe

Yesh Atid MK, Meretz hopefuls demand attorney general order police to summon suspects for investigation immediately.

Politicians piled pressure on police detectives on Tuesday to summon MKs allegedly involved in corruption for investigation, after Ynet revealed that four legislators would not be questioned until after the elections.

 

 

Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy petitioned Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on Tuesday morning to order Israel Police to summon the four Knesset members as soon as possible.

 

After the Ynet report was released, several sources attempted to deny the charges in other media outlets; however, high-ranking officials confirmed to Ynet's crime correspondent Eli Senyor the report's veracity.

 

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

 

In contradiction to the reports in the other media outlets, Channel 10 released a recording on Monday related to the affair, which mentions the names of MKs, some of whom will be questioned by police, as known to Ynet.

 

MK Levy, a deputy commissioner (res.) and former commander of Jerusalem Police, joined two Meretz candidates, who made a similar petition to Weinstein on Monday, in demanding the investigation not be postponed due to the elections.

 

"The decision to delay the questioning of those serving MKs until after the elections, aside from being unreasonable, casts a heavy shadow on the other 116 current MKs, who have committed no wrong," Levy wrote to Weinstein.

 

According to Levy, the decision to not investigate the four MKs, "creates an unfair distinction between serving MKs who have already been called in for investigation during the election season and those aforementioned MKs whose investigation has been postponed."

 

He added that the Israeli public "has the right to know who they are voting for, and if there are allegations against some of the candidates, their position as current MKs does not justify not calling them in for questioning.

 

The Yesh Atid politician emphasized that "as someone familiar with the police, I know that it is possible to finish those investigations in a few days."

Police received information which raised allegations that the four transferred public funds to close associates but – because of the proximity to the elections – decided to delay their interrogation.

 

The decision on the investigation was received after consultation with officials from the Justice Ministry. The MKs to be investigated in the affair are not from Yisrael Beytenu, which has been the center of a separate corruption probe.

 

The recording released by Channel 10 on Monday was from the former CEO of the Central Company for the Development of the Shomron, Haim Ben Shushan. The report shows that Yisrael Beytenu MK Faina Kirschenbaum erased some of the company's debts to elicit funds for the coalition.

 

"There will be a collective earthquake here," Ben Shushan said on the tape, before revealing the names of the suspects involved, including the current MKs.

 

The full recordings purportedly hold the names of MKs and ministers which have yet to be published.

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.03.15, 12:49
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