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After being convicted of bribery: The court will sentence Faina Kirschenbaum - Walla! news

2021-07-14T07:54:07.766Z


The former deputy interior minister was convicted of accepting bribes amounting to two million shekels, as part of the corruption case in the "Israel Beiteinu" party. The prosecution requested that she be sentenced to at least ten years in prison. Rami Cohen, the former director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, who was also convicted in the case, will also be sentenced.


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After being convicted of bribery: The court will sentence Faina Kirschenbaum

The former deputy interior minister was convicted of accepting bribes amounting to two million shekels, as part of the corruption case in the "Israel Beiteinu" party.

The prosecution requested that she be sentenced to at least ten years in prison.

Rami Cohen, the former director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, who was also convicted in the case, will also be sentenced.

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  • Faina Kirschenbaum

  • Israel is our Home

  • bribe

  • corruption

Shlomi Gabay and Yael Friedson

Wednesday, 14 July 2021, 08:30 Updated: 10:40

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The Tel Aviv District Court today (Wednesday) will sentence former Deputy Interior Minister Faina Kirschenbaum, who was convicted of accepting bribes amounting to NIS 2 million, breach of trust, money laundering and tax offenses in the "Israel Beiteinu" corruption case. Rami Cohen, a former director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, who was also convicted in the case, will also be sentenced



. The



judge ruled that "the intensity of the defendants' violation of the protected values ​​is serious," saying that Kirschenbaum "grossly violated the trust placed in her" while Cohen "violated the principle of equality." And in the manner in which she conducted the trial in sentencing.Also in relation to Cohen he said that weight should be given to his age,His health condition and contribution to society over the years.



Kirschenbaum was convicted last March of accepting bribes in several cases, and at the same time was acquitted of some of the charges.

She was convicted of taking bribes from the following parties: Samaria Development Company, Megilot Local Council, Mateh Binyamin Community Center, Ezra Youth Movement, Ayalim Association, Israel Entrepreneurs Association, Avora Production Company and the other defendant, former director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rami Cohen, who was also convicted he.



Cohen was convicted of bribery, taking bribes, money laundering, taking action on prohibited property, forging a document in aggravated circumstances, false registration in corporation documents, receiving anything fraudulently, obstruction of justice and threats.

The prosecution sought to impose on him at least five years in prison.

Convicted of bribery.

Kirschenbaum (Photo: Reuven Castro)

"The defendants acted in a corrupt pattern," Judge Yaron Levy said at the beginning of the reading of the verdict.

"The defendant used her governmental power as the person in charge of the distribution of the coalition funds of Yisrael Beiteinu. The defendant took advantage of his connections in the party and especially with the defendant, in order to obtain personal capital."



The judge added that "after hearing evidence it became clear that Mrs Faina Kirschenbaum had been taking bribes in a systematic, cunning and sophisticated manner for about six years, from eight unrelated parties. Its associates and the party. "

Dangling affair

The investigation into the corruption case in the Yisrael Beiteinu party began in 2014, in which 103 suspects were questioned. In the years that followed, indictments were filed against 19 defendants, of whom 17 were convicted, almost all of them as part of plea bargains.



According to the indictment against Kirschenbaum, from 2006 until the opening of the open investigation in December 2014, she acted in a systematic and planned manner to commit a series of offenses. She is accused that in many cases she took advantage of her role as a public servant and her status, and especially her control over state budgets - coalition funds - to demand bribes and take bribes from public institutions, non-profit organizations and private entities. This, in exchange for benefits for her, for her family members, for Yisrael Beiteinu and for those close to her, to her or to the party.



In other cases, according to the indictment, the bribery method was more complex - over the years, Kirschenbaum approached various bodies that asked it to act to budget for them, including the Samaria Regional Council, the Megilot Regional Council, the Ezra World Association, the Ayalim Association and private entities that promoted public activity.

In return, it was alleged, Kirschenbaum demanded a significant share of the budgets to be transferred.

More on Walla!

The prosecution is demanding at least 10 years in prison for Faina Kirschenbaum who was convicted of accepting bribes

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The demands of the two were received by the same bodies in several ways - promoting the private goals of Kirschenbaum or Yisrael Beiteinu, which were misleadingly presented outwardly as goals of those bodies, providing free services for the Yisrael Beiteinu party and employing associates of Kirschenbaum or the party.



Thus, according to the indictment, a significant portion of the coalition funds "rolled" back into Kirschenbaum's pocket or into the pockets of those close to her or the party, through the purchase of airline tickets, computer products, electronics and photography for Kirschenbaum and her family; Funding for private purposes of Kirschenbaum or the Yisrael Beiteinu party, such as public relations services provided to Kirschenbaum to improve its public status and to employ people close to Kirschenbaum or the Yisrael Beiteinu party in the amount of hundreds of thousands of shekels.



The vast majority of the defendants in the case were not sentenced to imprisonment.

However, the one who received the most severe punishment is David (Daoud) Godowski, who was Kirschenbaum's right hand man and head of the organization's branch in Yisrael Beiteinu.

He was convicted of four counts of bribery, two counts of bribery and three counts of money laundering.

Although he pleaded guilty in a plea bargain, he was sentenced to seven years in prison, after which the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to six years in prison.

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Source: walla

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