Military Police investigating series of bribery, fraud offenses
Well-connected civilian suspected of taking bribes to ensure new recruits are placed in unit of choice; officers in secret elite technological unit suspected of fraud; Civil Administration officer suspected of bribery offenses.
The Military Police has been investigating a series of bribery and fraud offenses in the IDF over the past few weeks.
In one case, Military Police suspects that parents paid a broker to arrange for their children to be placed in the IDF positions of their choice.
Parents allegedly paid several thousands of shekels to a middleman, a former public service employee who has connections in the IDF, to ensure their children get accepted into prestigious units, get stationed close to home, or get to retake qualification tests.
Yedioth Ahronoth learned that several soldiers and their parents were questioned last week on suspicion of involvement with the illegal "brokerage" deals.
It is likely that the undercover investigation, done in cooperation with the Israel Police, included eavesdropping on senior officers in the IDF Manpower Directorate.
The details of the investigation revealed that this arrangement has been going on for years, and it is possible that many people have been involved.
Military sources said that the officers suspected of being involved did not know that someone was charging money for the assistance they provided, and there is no suspicion that the current commanders of the Meitav Unit, which is in charge of the entrance and processing of new draftees and recruits in the IDF, were involved in the affair.
The assignments made with the help of the suspect will now be examined closely.
The investigation now focuses on civilian suspects such as the parents of released soldiers. One of the suspects in the case explained that the money was intended to pay for the broker's "expenditures," which only included his travel costs.
The IDF confirmed the existence of the investigation, but because of the sensitivity of it, the military declined to give further details.
Lawyers of two of the suspects denied the charges against them. Attorney Idan Pesach from Kuznitz Pesach and Co., representing one of the officers who was questioned under caution, said: "We will not comment on the merits of the investigation, we will only say that our client is completely innocent and his name snaked into the investigation in an unfounded manner, there is no flaw in his actions."
Attorney Guy Ashkenazi, representing one of the families suspected of paying the same broker, stressed that "it is a moral and patriotic family whose son served in an elite unit, and is truly the salt of the earth. We have no doubt that at the end of the investigation, it will become unequivocally clear that no one of them have anything to do with the affair."
Fraud suspicions in secret elite units
In another case, Military Police has questioned under caution dozens of officers of two very elite and secret IDF units on suspicion they took advantage of their technological capabilities to carry out fraud and to obtain financial benefits.
The officers, both commissioned and noncommissioned, who are considered among the military's highest quality personnel, are suspected of criminal offenses within the military system, rather than security-related offenses.
Most of the details of the investigation are still under gag order until March 10, but some information was cleared for publication.
After suspicions arose a few weeks ago that several officers and noncommissioned officers were committing fraud, they were summoned to the Military Police's special investigations unit. Since then, the investigation has branched out, and the military is now trying to assess how many career personnel are involved in the case.
The Military Police believes that only those with advanced technological background could carry out such sophisticated offenses.
IDF officials now find themselves faced with a dilemma: The investigation could result in the abandonment of the officers involved, which, as mentioned, have skills and abilities that are quite unique.
The suspects, however, do not consider their actions a criminal offense, they view it as a breach of discipline at most - and they are also considering their future career in the military in light of the investigation.
In an era when the IDF suffers from a brain drain of talented personnel leaving for the private sector, there is fear in the IDF that the suspects might decide to leave the military because of the investigation - and thereby seriously harm the IDF's technological capabilities.
Attorney Idan Pesach from Kooznitz, Pesach and Co., who represents several of the suspects, said: "The career personnel we represent have not committed a criminal offense, and certainly not one that justifies a police investigation. We will continue to fight for the closure of the cases against them and prove that they acted properly."
Serious charges against Civil Administration officer
In a third case, Jaffa Military Court Judge Col. Orli Markman partially lifted a gag order earlier this week over a Military Police investigation against an officer in the Civil Administration suspected of various criminal offenses, including receiving benefits and bribes.
There remains a gag order over the rest of the details of the case, due to the grave nature of the offenses that could pose a risk to national security.
IDF officials said that "due to severe violations of unbecoming conduct, a request was made in November 2013 to the discharge committee to release the officer from service as soon as possible. The committee decided that the officer would continue serving in the military and would retire as soon as possible (2017). When the officer was arrested, all of the unit's commanders were gathered and a clear message was sent that this is a case that must be purged from the system, and that it is not in line with the values of the IDF and the unit."
Yoav Zitun contributed to this report.
