Shas party chairman and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri will be indicted for tax offenses, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Friday morning.
Because of Deri’s position in the government, the indictment will only be filed after a hearing on the matter.
In 2019, then-State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan recommended that Deri be indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust, tax offenses, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
In his decision Friday, Mandelblit dropped the charges of money laundering, fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice.
The probe which resulted in the pending indictment started five years ago, and related to multiple allegations against both Deri and his brother, Shlomo Deri.
The investigation included real estate sales, the proceeds of which were allegedly not properly reported to tax authorities, along with claims of bribery and fraud in connection with an organization run by Deri’s close relatives. The bribery charges were not included in Nitzan’s recommendation, however.
Aryeh Deri responded to the indictment Friday morning, saying that the decision to drop most of the charges vindicated him, and expressed confidence that the last remain charges would also be dropped following the pre-indictment hearing.
"After more than five years of tough investigations, I thank the Creator of the world for this decision to drop all of the false charges against me, and I am convinced that during the hearing it will be decided to completely close the case against me regarding the tax offenses, once all the facts are presented to the Attorney General."
"I intend to continue to focus on my duties as Interior Minister and to helping the weak and needy, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic; and also to protect the Jewish identity of the state."
Deri's attorney, Navot Tel-Tzur, said Friday: “After more than five difficult and agonizing years of investigation, the Attorney General has ruled at the beginning of his decision that he is clearing Aryeh Deri of suspicions of government corruption.”
"The Attorney General has emphasized that his decision is not final, and that he is only considering whether to press charges on tax offenses, and even those only once a fair hearing has been held."