IDF bribery scandal involves an estimated $65 million, military prosecution says
Twenty-one suspects have been arrested in an investigation into alleged bribery, fuel theft, money laundering and tax evasion involving military personnel and external contractors. The detention of five suspects was extended until Sunday as investigators continue to examine the case.
The financial scope of the IDF bribery scandal is estimated at NIS 200 million ($65M), the Military Prosecution revealed on Tuesday during a hearing at the military court in Beit Lid on the extension of the detention of five suspects. The court extended their detention until Sunday. One of the suspects, who said he had fought in the Gaza Strip during the war, remarked during the hearing, “I participated in the rescue of Noa Argamani.”
Most details of the case remain under a court-imposed gag order, as the investigation is still in its early stages. As Calcalist reported, 21 suspects were arrested on Tuesday morning, including contractors and five IDF non-commissioned officers (NCOs). The investigation concerns alleged offenses including money laundering, obtaining property by deception, and bribery. Investigators suspect that individuals within the military establishment exploited the chaos of the war to enrich themselves at public expense.
Calcalist has learned that the investigation centers on the oversight of fuel expenditures involving external contractors. The contractors are suspected of paying bribes to IDF NCOs to reduce the costs of carrying out their work and fraudulently increase their profits. Among other allegations, the contractors are suspected of stealing fuel worth millions of shekels while operating in the Gaza Strip and using fictitious invoices to launder the proceeds and evade taxes. The latter allegations have also drawn the VAT Investigation Department into the probe.
The investigation involves the IDF Military Police’s National Fraud Investigation Unit, the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 unit, and the Investigation Department of the Supervisor of Insolvency Proceedings at the Ministry of Justice.
