His version: Kfar Saba mayor denies, police to summon additional people for questioning

Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar was questioned at the Lahav 433 fraud unit and denies the allegations against him, claiming he acted according to the law. The police plan to summon professional officials from the municipality and opposition members to examine his version regarding suspicions of bid rigging. Meanwhile, the account of Rivka Benadi, his wife's mother, regarding 150,000 shekels in cash seized at her home is being examined.

Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar was questioned for many hours at the offices of the National Fraud Investigation Unit (Yahba) in Lahav 433, on suspicion of corruption offenses including bid rigging. Saar denies the allegations and claims he acted in accordance with the law and municipal procedures. In his questioning, he explained that every inquiry was handled with the same level of public responsibility, and that he is not even a member of the tender committee, which consists of six council members – three from the coalition and three from the opposition – and therefore he has no ability to influence its decisions. The police are preparing to summon in the coming days professional officials from the Kfar Saba municipality and council members from opposition factions to examine the municipality's procedures and the extent of Saar's involvement in decisions. Today, Saar will not be questioned at the request of his attorneys, following a long interrogation yesterday. Meanwhile, the account of Rivka Benadi, the mother of his wife Mital Saar, who was arrested after more than 150,000 shekels in cash were seized at her home, is being examined. Benadi claims the funds are compensation she received from the National Insurance Institute as a victim of hostilities following the war with Iran, and that she withdrew them from her account. Investigators are examining documents and financial transactions to confirm or refute her account.