The Israel Police Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit questioned Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) and his wife Yaffa on Monday in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation. The case focuses largely on financial and real estate transactions and Deri is suspected of money laundering, fraud, breach of trust, theft, falsifying documents and tax violations. Yaffa Deri is suspected of illegally receiving state grants for the Mifalot Simha nongovernmental organization she heads, and diverting some of the funds to members of her family. Deri served as interior minister from 1988 to 1993 before the Supreme Court forced him to resign due to corruption charges. In 2000, he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for taking bribes while in office. Deri served less than two years in prison before being paroled in July 2002. After a mandated cooling-off period due to moral turpitude, Deri re-entered politics and was elected to the Knesset in 2013. In March 2016, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit ordered the police to launch a new investigation into alleged wrongdoings by the interior minister. Monday saw the police interrogate Deri and his wife for 11 hours. The two were separated upon arriving at the Major Crimes Unit's headquarters in central Israel. The move, which was cleared by Mendelblit, followed concerns expressed by police and Israel Tax Authority officials that the couple would try to coordinate their stories. Police have also questioned 14 other persons of interest in the case, including Deri's brother, attorney Shlomo Deri and his daughter, Jerusalem City Councilman Moshe Lion, Negev and Galilee Development Ministry Director General Ariel Mishal, and several well-known contractors. "This investigation began in April 2016 and initially focused on suspected tax and real estate offenses. Over time, however, it was expanded to additional suspicions attributed to multiple suspects, including Deri and his wife," a police official said. Deri released a statement saying, "I cooperated with investigators in full and answered all of their questions. As I have said before, I have every faith in the law enforcement system and I urge the public to be patient and let the investigation run its course. God willing, I will continue with my public activities." The Ometz Association for Good Governance and Social Justice appealed to Mendelblit on Monday, asking that he order Deri to take a leave of absence from the Interior Ministry pending the investigation's conclusion. Zionist Union MK Mickey Rosenthal said, "Deri never should have been allowed back into the [Interior] ministry. A man who violated the public's trust shouldnt be allowed to return to public life." Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur said, "This investigation has been dragging on for a year. I think we're rushing to judge people in the media. We have to let law enforcement do its job."
Police question interior minister, his wife in alleged fraud case
Major Crimes Unit investigators question Shas leader Aryeh Deri, his wife Yaffa for 11 hours • Deri is suspected of money laundering, fraud, breach of trust, theft, falsifying documents and tax violations • Deri asks public to let probe run its course.
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