Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri has been offered a plea deal by the State Attorney in which he would admit tax offenses and pay a NIS 180,000 fine, which he is set to accept. As part of the deal, Deri is expected to resign from the Knesset and the conviction will not carry moral turpitude.
In recent weeks reports have been circulating that the State Attorney plans not convicting Deri of offenses involving moral turpitude on condition that he would leave politics. However, Deri has no plans to leave politics and although he will quit the Knesset he will continue to lead Shas from outside parliament.
Yesterday at the Mayors Conference in Eilat, Deri reportedly said, "It's important that my voice is heard - I have no intention of letting go, not even for one minute, of my activities as chairman of the Shas movement. My mission is to campaign for Judaism and helping the disadvantaged and I will do this with you until the coming of the Messiah shows we were right. It's not important whether I have this or that position."
At the start of the year Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decided that Deri should stand trial after a five year investigation against him. In 2016, Mandelblit ordered that the investigation be launched against Deri for suspected tax and money laundering offenses involving real estate deals in which Deri was involved. Some of these alleged offenses were first uncovered by "Globes."
Deri was found guilty in 2000 of taking $155,000 in bribes when he was Interior Minister and handed a three year prison sentence. He was released after 22 months due to good behavior.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 22, 2021.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2021.