Rami Levi at his supermarket
Rami Levi at his supermarketRami Levi Spokesperson

Renowned philanthropic Israeli businessman and supermarket magnate Rami Levi was detained by police Sunday, along with the head of a municipality outside of Jerusalem over suspicions of fraud relating to a mall owned by Levi.

Trade in publicly traded stocks of the company controlled by Levi has been stopped until an announcement is made by the management of the company.

In addition to the two, another businessman and the editor of a local newspaper were detained as well.

The four were detained over suspicions of fraud and breach of trust, after a secret interrogation that lasted several months raised suspicions of improper conduct by the council and the owners of the shopping mall owned by Rami Levi.

A few weeks ago, investigators from the Lahav 443 Anti-Fraud Unit raided the offices of the municipal council and confiscated large numbers of files.

Rami Levi is widely admired in Israel for establishing a large low-cost supermarket chain. He arguably started the discount supermarket trend in Israel, and lit a torch on Israel's Independence Day in recognition of his role in making food more affordable.