Ehud Barak and wife Nili Priell
Photo: Yariv Katz
Barak likely to pay NIS 5,000 fine for illegal worker
Sources in Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry tell Yedioth Ahronoth employment of Filipino woman at defense minister's house may result in monetary penalty
Defense Minister Ehud Barak
and his wife Nili Priell may be forced to pay an NIS 5,000 (about $1,344) fine for employing a foreign worker
in their house, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Sunday.
The defense minister's wife was questioned under caution twice by Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry investigators. She admitted hiring a Filipino woman, but said she no longer had any ties with her.
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The foreign worker, D., is hiding and all of the investigators' attempts to locate her, even with the help of the Shin Bet, have failed. The woman offered, through her friends, to deliver a testimony in exchange for a promise that she would not be deported, but such a promise was not given.
The investigation into the affair was completed in the past few days and turned over to the ministry's legal department. Ministry sources told Yedioth Ahronoth that the affair would most likely end with a fine, as this was the first time the Baraks had employed a foreign worker.
According to the sources, the affair would have ended with a monetary penalty even if the illegal worker had been located.
