The court allowed the publication this morning (Wednesday) that the head of Lahav 433, Superintendent Meni Binyamin, was questioned with a warning by the Criminal Investigation Department for actions he allegedly committed as part of the investigation into the affair linking the 'Bakri' criminal organization to senior officials in the Nazareth municipality.
This investigation became public this morning, following the arrest of current and former senior figures in the criminal organization and senior municipal officials - including a former mayor.
According to the suspicion, about which Binyamin was questioned about a month ago and which is still under a gag order, the head of Lahav 433 was in close contact with a former senior official in the Nazareth municipality who was arrested this morning. The connection lasted for years, dating back to the days when he was commander of the Nazareth station, and they are still in contact today.
The MHA accused Binyamin of acting in a conflict of interest by carrying out actions in his own case as part of the investigation, while he was in a conflict of interest due to his connection with that former senior official.
Among other things, the IDF accused him of trying to transfer the investigation between units and acting on matters related to the investigation while still in contact with that former senior official, and there was no conflict of interest arrangement or reporting on this, as expected. On the other hand, Binyamin claimed that the relationship with that former senior official in the Nazareth Municipality was professional and remained professional.
Attorney Uri Korev said at the time regarding this investigation: "Any conflict of interest in the actions he took and meetings he held with him were in the presence of police officers and were even documented. His version made it clear that there was no flaw in his actions. In general, he made it clear that he was not in any conflict of interest. He did not interfere in any investigation unrelated to him and all his actions were done lawfully within the framework of his role as commander of the investigative unit.".
According to the MHAS statement, he is currently under restrictive conditions, which include, among other things, a ban on contacting those involved in the affair. The investigation, which is being conducted by the MHAS Disclosure Team, is still ongoing.
The serious affair in Nazareth
During the night, hundreds of Northern District police and Border Guard soldiers raided compounds associated with senior figures in the 'Bachri' criminal organization - and arrested senior figures in the organization, along with businessmen and officials in the Nazareth municipality, past and present, as part of the 'Money Maze' affair.
According to the suspicion, this is a deep involvement of municipal officials in collaboration with the criminal organization, which led to the de facto control of the management of the municipality's finances. According to the suspicion, public funds were transferred to the organization in various ways, while exerting pressure on senior employees.
The 'Bakri' organization is associated with extensive criminal activity in the north - including collecting protection fees, extortion through threats, taking over public tenders, and in recent years, also involvement in murder incidents as part of struggles for control against competing criminal organizations.
The current affair was revealed shortly after the "Prince" affair, in which a state witness was called against the "Abu Latif" and "Hariri" organizations. Many people were arrested in that affair, including senior figures in the "Abu Latif" organization.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
