The bag of checks, the groom and the dramatic decision in the Kfar Saba affair

At the center of the hearing regarding the CEO of the Kfar Saba Economic Company, arrested in the municipality corruption case, was a bag containing envelopes of checks seized at his home. The suspect claimed they were wedding gifts from a friend, and the groom confirmed this. The judge ordered his release to house arrest, but the police requested a delay to appeal.

At the center of the hearing regarding the CEO of the Kfar Saba Economic Company, arrested as part of the municipality corruption case, was a bag containing hundreds of envelopes and checks seized at his home during a search. The police attributed importance to this seizure, but in his investigation, the suspect, Chen, claimed the envelopes did not belong to him but to a friend who had gotten married days earlier and asked him to keep the wedding gifts. The groom confirmed the account, and the envelopes were returned to him. Following this development, Judge Mizrahi ruled that there had been a change in the circumstances of the arrest and no justification for his continued detention, ordering his release to house arrest for six days. The police objected, arguing that Chen had received benefits not necessarily in cash, including promises of promotion. Chen denied the claims and clarified that he had refused an offer to be appointed CEO of the municipality about a year ago. His attorney, Shashi Gaz, argued that the police were holding his client to pressure him into providing incriminating information against Mayor Rafi Saar and his wife Meital, and that a deal had been offered for his release in exchange for testifying against her – a claim the police denied. The judge granted the police's request to delay the release until the morning, to allow them to file an appeal with the district court.