Ramat Gan Mayor in court for start of graft trial

Zvi Bar accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of shekels in return for promoting certain real estate projects.

Zvi Bar 370 (photo credit: Courtesy Ramat Gan municipality)
Zvi Bar 370
(photo credit: Courtesy Ramat Gan municipality)
Ramat Gan Mayor Zvi Bar appeared in court in Tel Aviv on Thursday, for the start of his trial for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of shekels in return for promoting certain real estate projects in his municipality.
The indictment charged him with accepting $224,125 in bribes, as well as with fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice and breach of public trust.
Three entrepreneurs who allegedly gave Bar bribes were also indicted for bribery, money-laundering and obstruction of justice.
The bribes were allegedly given nominally as loans in exchange for Bar’s help with the Beit Liror development project in Ramat Gan.
State Attorney Moshe Lador was personally involved in the decision to indict Bar, following a pre-indictment hearing in which the Ramat Gan mayor had a chance to sway Lador against the indictment.