Israeli police raid Transportation Ministry in corruption probe

The report claimed that decisions on transportation projects were often based on the number of votes the area’s municipal leaders had garnered for Regev.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israeli Police investigators probing corruption raided the Ministry of Transportation’s Jerusalem offices and seizing documents on Monday amid allegations that Transportation Minister Miri Regev and other officials gave preferential treatment to local authorities that supported her in the Likud party primaries.

According to the police, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman ordered the investigation “on suspicion of crimes in the field of ethical [misconduct] and interfering in legal proceedings that were allegedly done in the Transportation Ministry.”

The allegations were first raised in May in an investigative report aired on Israel’s Channel 13.

The report claimed, among other things, that decisions on transportation projects were often based on the number of votes the area’s municipal leaders had garnered for Regev in the Likud party primaries.

Localities that showed more support for Regev received preferential treatment. Regev denies the allegations.

“The truth is simple: it is a fabricated investigation. There was no preferential treatment based on politics. The Transportation Ministry allocates its budget according to policy and the decisions of professional entities. Any other claim is false,” she said.

Likud last held primaries in 2019. Regev placed ninth on the party list.