Aryeh Deri’s tax offenses – general

Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit informed Interior Minister Aryeh Deri that after examining the evidence gathered in the investigation file in which he was questioned as a suspect, he is considering prosecuting him for tax offenses in three incidents, subject to a hearing.

The case begins with an undercover investigation that began at the National Fraud Investigation Unit (JHA) in Lahav 433, with the assistance of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, which raised an alleged suspicion of government corruption offenses. At the same time, an evidentiary basis was found for the commission of tax offenses.

The events in respect of which it was decided to consider prosecuting Minister Deri
Givat Shaul deal – The case of this case in a real estate transaction from 2013, in which Minister Deri sold to his brother Shlomo Deri a property in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem, where construction began on a 5-apartment residential building. According to the evidence collected, the reports (NIS), as well as the sale contract attached to the report, included allegedly false representations, including the amount of the consideration in the transaction, the dating back, and the presentation of the lot sold as an empty lot instead of its true condition as an emerging residential building.

Revenue from Green Ocean – Green Ocean was a financial investment fund in the United States. According to the suspicion, in 2011 Green Ocean began paying Minister Deri a recruiter fee for recruiting an investor to the fund. The evidence shows that according to Minister Deri’s order, starting in January 2013, Deri to Green Ocean to transfer the amounts of commissions to which he was entitled to his brother Shlomo, and accordingly, between 2015 and 2013, Shlomo Deri was paid NIS 630,000 against allegedly false “consulting” invoices produced by the law firm of Shlomo Deri.

Income from a subsidiary of Egged and the next Moshe – According to the suspicion, in 2012 Minister Deri provided consulting and marketing services for a joint venture of businessman Moshe Haba and Egged Transportation Company. Minister Deri allegedly asked for his salary in the form of a donation of NIS 180,000 to be paid to the Carmei Ha’ir Association, by his associate Yehuda Azrad, who assisted him over the years. This salary, which is taxable, was not reported in the personal reports of Minister Deri or of the company he owns for income tax. In addition, in those days he paid from his private account to Minister Deri’s private account an additional NIS 100,000, which is income not reported to income tax.

The case was accompanied and handled by the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office (Taxation and Economy), headed by the then District Attorney, Deputy State Attorney Ms. Liat Ben-Ari, District Attorney Mr. Jonathan Tadmor, Chief of Staff Yaron Golomb and Attorneys Noga Blickstein-Shachori and Itai Shoham.