Shas Chairman Arye Deri's daughters and son-in-law should be investigated for suspicious deposits into their bank account, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel requested in a Monday letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara, Police chief Kobi Shabtai, and Lahav 433 commander Motti Levi.
The MQG letter referred to a Thursday TheMarker report that claimed that police intelligence had obtained documents indicating that around NIS 650,000 had been deposited in 2022 into the account of Deri's daughter, Asnat Dahan, and her husband Aharon.
"The Israel Police already possess materials that testify to the alleged unusual deposits in the account of the Dahans, so the necessary evidence is apparently in their hands, in a way that requires the opening of an investigation into the case in question," said MQG, based on the report.
Tens of thousands of shekels had been deposited several times per month throughout the year, according to TheMarker. The report alleged that there were additional hundreds of thousands of shekels deposited by check, far exceeding what TheMarker said was NIS 15,000 in their salary earnings.
According to TheMarker, the Dahan family claimed that the deposits were from rents paid in cash by foreigners living in their Tel Aviv properties.
The MQG noted in the Monday letter that such movement of money for close relatives of a public figure raised red flags.
Deri's past financial crimes
The NGO's concern was amplified due to Deri's own past of financial crimes. In 1999, Deri was sentenced to three years in prison and fined NIS 250,000 for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The Shas chairman was given a three months suspended sentence and NIS 10,000 fine in 2003 over the transfer of Interior Ministry funds to organizations tied to Shas.
In 2022, Deri struck a plea deal to resign from the Knesset for tax offenses. He had to pay another NIS 180,000 fine.