- On the basis of the above, I have considered that the defendant should be convicted of the offense of bribery, according to Article 291 of the Penal Law, and in the offense of the prohibition of money laundering, according to Section 3(a) to the Prohibition of Money Laundering Law.
Second Charge (Attributed to Defendant 3)
The main points of the indictment
Those Involved in the Indictment
- Apart from Ben-Eliezer, only Defendant 3 occupies the second indictment as a defendant, and it is claimed that he is a businessman engaged in real estate and textiles in Israel and abroad.
Another relevant figure mentioned in the indictment is Haim Yehezkel, a businessman residing in the United States, a relative of Defendant 3 and his business partner (hereinafter – Yehezkel).
It was claimed that Ben-Eliezer, Yehezkel and the defendant met in the early 1980s in New York, at the beginning of Ben-Eliezer's tenure as an elected official, when at a date unknown to the prosecution, Ben-Eliezer asked the defendant to arrange employment in the United States for his son, Ofir Ben-Eliezer (hereinafter – Ophir) and the defendant did so, and employed Ophir in his joint business with Yehezkel in the United States.
It should be noted that Ofir's employment began many years prior to the events relevant to the indictment, and there is no argument that this figure should be regarded as relevant to proving one of the elements of the offense.
The bestowal
- According to what is stated in the indictment, Ben-Eliezer received sums of money from the defendant on two different occasions, as detailed below:
The first transfer of funds - At an unknown date for the claim, Ben-Eliezer decided to purchase a real estate property in which he planned to live with his son and daughter-in-law (Yariv and Irit). On July 12, 2011, Yariv and Irit signed a contract for the purchase of the plot in Nes Ziona in a total amount of NIS 1,550,000, even though the purchase of the property was financed by Ben-Eliezer.