Police Sign State-Witness Deal in Tax Authority Corruption Case

Police investigators in Lahav 433's National Fraud Investigations Unit recruited a state witness in the Tax Authority corruption case disclosed Monday. The witness allegedly acted as a fixer linking taxpayers seeking refunds with Tax Authority officials, in what investigators suspect was a bribery network operating for more than a decade. Current and former employees are suspected of accepting bribes to approve refunds tied to false expenses totaling about NIS 80 million, while each official allegedly operated independently but knew about the others. More than 10 people were arrested or detained; three were released to house arrest and the others after questioning.