Seven suspects were detained for allegedly defrauding the state by claiming wartime evacuation grants for Northern Israeli communities they never lived in.
The Israel Police are conducting an ongoing investigation in cooperation with the National Insurance Institute.
In recent months, investigators from Lahav 433, working with the National Insurance Institute’s investigations and intelligence division, carried out a wide-ranging covert probe.
According to police, the suspects conspired to bribe an employee of the Population and Immigration Authority to fraudulently change their registered home addresses to locations in northern Israel.
Police allege the suspects sought to create the false impression that they had been evacuated from northern border communities during the war.
Through the alleged scheme, the suspects sought to unlawfully obtain compensation and assistance funds through evacuation grants paid by the National Insurance Institute. Investigators believe the fraud caused damage to the public funds amounting to millions of shekels.
Alleged wartime grant fraud treated as serious offense
Police said the suspicions are particularly serious because the alleged offenses were committed during a period of national emergency and in the midst of war.
The investigation remains in its early stages. Depending on developments, the suspects are expected to be brought before the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court for a hearing on extending their detention.