The Central District Attorney's Office today (Monday) filed an unprecedented indictment in the Lod District Court against seven defendants - some of whom were officers who served in classified units in the IDF and the police.
The indictment was filed after a joint operation by the Shin Bet, the Central Police Headquarters, the Special Investigations Unit and the Central Special Investigations Unit of the IDF, resulted in the arrest for questioning of a number of officers serving in operational units in the IDF and the police, along with a number of civilians and a resident of East Jerusalem, for their involvement in security offenses, while abusing their position, status and authority in the units for financial gain.
The indictment accuses them of running a systematic mechanism of theft, bribery, and money laundering, while cynically exploiting their sensitive position and security powers.
The indictment indicates that over the past year, the defendants operated within the classified units and pocketed property and funds with a cumulative value of tens of millions of shekels.
The defendants used sophisticated methods to conceal their activities and cover up the money. The thefts and bribes were carried out using the access granted to the defendants by virtue of their positions as officers in the security apparatus.
Most of the defendants laundered the proceeds of crime by purchasing cryptocurrencies, thinking that this would make it difficult for law enforcement authorities to locate the assets.
As part of the investigation, security forces were able to seize crypto wallets and cash worth over 50 million NIS.
The case, which was investigated in cooperation with the Shin Bet, Central Intelligence Agency, MPI and MASH, also includes charges of attempts to obstruct the investigation.
After some of the defendants learned of the arrest of one of those involved, three of them acted to conceal physical and digital evidence.
Due to the sensitivity of the units in which the defendants served and the offenses committed, the case was also investigated under suspicion of security violations, which emphasizes the depth of the potential damage to the state's resilience.
Upon filing the indictment, the prosecution requested from the court detention until the end of the proceedings for four of the main defendants in the case and restrictive conditions for the three additional defendants.
The Shin Bet, IDF and police stated: "We view with great seriousness the phenomenon of exploiting positions to promote personal benefits out of greed for money in a way that constitutes a direct threat to the security of the State of Israel and a significant contribution to strengthening the status of terrorist organizations hostile to the State of Israel. We will continue to act decisively and take all means at our disposal to thwart this threat and severely punish all those involved.".
