Bitan denies all the charges.

Mandelblit’s statement in January 2020 claimed that Bitan had received around 990,000 shekels in bribes as well as an unknown value of real estate property rights between 2011 and 2017.

The period, which included nine different alleged criminal proceedings, covered both his tenure as deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion and as an MP.

In the March 2019 police recommendation to charge Bitan, there were 12 separate cases and Mandelblit accepted some, but not all.

Bitan’s defense could be complicated by his general insistence during police questioning on remaining silent.

Although suspects have the right to do so, courts often take the view that silence is a sign that suspects do not have a better defense.

Mandelblit’s statement says that in return for the alleged bribes, Bitan acted to promote the interests of those who bribed him, including construction company Danya Cebus Ltd., a chain supermarkets, real estate developers and contractors.

Although Bitan remained an MP, he resigned as chair of the coalition in 2017 when it became clear that the criminal investigation into his activities was not going to end quickly and that it could distract from the Likud agenda.

The criminal investigation was made public in December 2017.

Ample evidence was found during the questioning of dozens of other suspects, according to the March police statement.

In their March statement, police said they interviewed more than 300 witnesses, 80 of whom were questioned as suspects, searched dozens of locations across the country and seized around 700 document files.

Between 2013 and 2015, Bitan reportedly advanced the interests of Danya Cebus, led by Ronen Ginzburg, by approving real estate transactions in Rishon Lezion and with the Ministry of Transportation. He reportedly received some 513,000 shekels for his intervention.

The bribe was paid to Bitan for the right to build a gas station on the edge of the city of Rishon near Highway 431, as well as the approval of another project on the highway 38.

In addition, Bitan and another accused allegedly accepted a bribe of NIS 385,000 to secure approval for three real estate projects in Tel Aviv. Some of the corruption funds were transferred to Bitan using bogus invoices, according to the charges.

Some of the investors and others involved in paying bribes are called DG, MS, MY, Beni Solimani, Eli Nahum, Albert Bitan and Yitzhak Jedah, and one program is called “Hetzi Hinam”, named after a chain of supermarkets. .

According to the charges, Bitan and other defendants held meetings in the Knesset and at the local level on behalf of those who bribed them, smoothed out necessary approvals and ensured that some tax obligations were reduced.

“The findings of the investigation revealed that MP Bitan, in the course of his various public functions, both during his time as deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion and during his time as a member of the Knesset, received cash bribes worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, as well as a promise to receive apartments, ”police said in March.

The police statement continued, “In return, MK Bitan has exercised his authority, influence, power and connections on various issues, and has used his influence to change legal decisions, grant permits of all kinds and reduce municipal payments. ”