Five arrested in Israel for allegedly embezzling tens of millions in govt funds intended for war victims

TEL AVIV: Following an investigation by Northern District police and Israel’s National Insurance Institute, five suspects were arrested this morning for running a network that fraudulently spent public assistance funds intended for victims of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

According to the Israel Police, tens of millions of shekels were fraudulently paid out from the public purse during the ‘Iron Swords’ War in Gaza.

During the war, and as part of the economy’s coping with the labour market crisis in the north, the state decided on a grant of 3,000 Shekels ($788) per month to be awarded to every evacuee who returned to work and/or to anyone who works full or part-time in a community evacuated due to security concerns who previously came to their workplace for a minimum of 11 days during a work month.

Thousands of cases were discovered in which employees received the grants into their accounts, but in fact did not meet the qualifying criteria, alleged the police. When the investigation became public, police raided the homes of five suspects (Deir al-Assad, Kisra Sumia, Uzir, Nazareth and Beit Jan) and arrested them.

These individuals are suspected of being involved in spending tens of millions of shekels from the state treasury during the ‘Iron Swords’ war, when they personally pocketed hundreds of thousands of shekels in commissions from those citizens who were led to believe they would receive the funds in their private accounts. (ANI/ TPS)