Israel's Anti-Corruption Chief investigated for alleged ties to crime network

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 10 (ANI/TPS): Israel's top anti-corruption police chief is under investigation for an alleged conflict of interest tied to a sweeping criminal probe in Nazareth, after a gag order was lifted on Wednesday.

Assistant-Chief Meni Benjamin, commander of the elite Lahav 433 crime-fighting unit, is suspected of maintaining undisclosed ties with a former Nazareth mayor while that official was under investigation for alleged financial entanglements with the Bakri crime organisation.

Lahav 433, sometimes described as "Israel's FBI," handles the country's highest-level investigations into organised crime, corruption, cybercrime, and sensitive national matters. The PID probe into its commander adds a dramatic and politically sensitive layer to an already far-reaching municipal corruption case that officials say is still unfolding.

The case, known as the "Maze of Money," centres on accusations that the Bakri network infiltrated Nazareth's municipal financial system, diverted large sums through shell businesses, and coerced officials into illicit fund transfers. Israeli Police said that overnight raids resulted in the arrest of senior members of the Bakri organisation, an Israeli-Arab crime family. Also arrested were current and former municipal officials -- including a former mayor -- and several businessmen. Officers also operated inside the Nazareth municipality compound as part of the operation.

According to investigators, Benjamin allegedly kept personal contact with the former mayor -- a relationship dating back to Benjamin's earlier posting as Nazareth station commander -- and failed to report the ongoing ties to oversight authorities. Police say he is suspected of sharing sensitive investigative information with the former official and later working with northern district personnel to move case files into a unit under his command once he realised evidence had been collected that could implicate him.

Benjamin was questioned under caution about a month ago by the Police Investigation Department (PID), though details were kept sealed until Wednesday. The PID has restricted him from contacting others involved in the case, but Israel Police said he has returned to his post at Lahav 433 with the backing of national police chief Danny Levy. He is being investigated on suspicion of breach of trust and abuse of office.

In a video statement, Northern District Commander Commissioner Meir Eliyahu said the overnight operation marked another step in dismantling organised crime in the region. "Today we are settling accounts with another crime organisation operating in the Northern District," he said. Eliyahu noted that it followed major recent actions against two other networks, adding: "Today, we are breaking open the Maze of Money case and settling accounts with the Bakri organisation."

Eliyahu described the Bakri group as "a group that engaged in extortion of businesses, in murder incidents, and inserted its hands into a municipal authority with the intention of toppling the authority and squeezing it to its last drop of blood."

He also warned the criminal networks to stay away from civilians. "We have many more actions we still need to take, but we are determined to bring security to the residents of the Northern District. We said, and I repeat, we are warning you, take your filthy claws off innocent civilians," Eliyahu warned.

Police say early evidence indicates the Bakri organisation "took over the financial management of the municipality," pushing senior municipal employees to participate in money transfers and laundering operations. Nazareth, a major Arab city in northern Israel, carries an estimated debt of roughly NIS 300 million ($92.9 million) -- a burden investigators believe was worsened by criminal interference.

Attorney Uri Korev, representing Benjamin, rejected the allegations outright.

"The allegations of a conflict of interest by the head of Lahav are unfounded and embarrassing," he said. The relationship with the former mayor, Korev argued, "was professional and open to all," adding that Benjamin "did not provide information about the investigation," and that investigative decisions were made for "professional reasons." (ANI/TPS)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)