A father and son, the joint owners of a minimarket chain in Jerusalem's Mea She'arim and Geula neighborhoods, have been arrested on suspicion of concealing income and not paying taxes. Their preliminary sentences have been extended until Thursday.
The pair own four markets and two warehouses for selling goods. Their reported turnover was about 44 million shekels ($11 million US) in 2014, though the investigation suggests that a large portion of their earnings were not reported at all.
Investigators are confident that the missing information in the reports and the withheld income largely derive from the sale of goods on credit and to business customers.
Yesterday (Monday), authorities searched the suspects' homes in Har Shmuel, their businesses in Mea Sha'arim and Geulia, and the businesses of several of their customers. The searches were carried out under heavy security by riot police and Border Police, and were accompanied by mobs throwing rocks and diapers.
In the father's home, inspectors found 7,000 shekels ($1,800 US) hidden in a used diaper that had been thrown in the garbage, as well as a safe containing large amounts of gold jewelry.