A criminal investigation has been opened against Minister Haim Biton (Shas) on suspicions of illegally financing a party-affiliated newspaper using state funds, KAN reported on Tuesday night.
KAN previously reported that Haderech, the Shas-affiliated newspaper, paid its employees with funds from the party’s Ma'ayan HaTorah school network, which is budgeted by the Ministry of Education.
The central concern of the ongoing investigation is that during Biton's tenure as CEO of the education network, public funds intended for the Ministry of Education were used to finance the party-affiliated private newspaper.
The funding was allegedly carried out in a variety of ways. One of them was through a network employee’s salary, who was a former editor of the paper. Another suspected manner involved a roundabout transaction through a printing house that provides services to Ma'ayan HaTorah, according to the evidence put forward.
Ma'ayan HaTorah offered to pay hundreds of thousands of shekels to prevent the release of documents linking it to the newspaper's funding, according to the allegations.
'Public funds for partisan purposes'
אחרי חשיפת כאן חדשות: נפתחה חקירה נגד השר חיים ביטון מש"ס בחשד שמימן עיתון מפלגתי מכספי מדינה | @avishaigrinzaig עם פרטים חדשים על הפרשה#חדשותהערב pic.twitter.com/X2pZMS6kJQ
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 8, 2024
"We do not comment on the existence of investigative actions. This does not confirm or deny the existence of such actions," said Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of the investigation.
In 2020, the Attorney General's office ruled that Biton could not simultaneously be CEO of the party and the educational network.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel made several applications to the attorney general, the police commissioner and the state attorney requesting that a criminal investigation be opened.
"We welcome the decision to open a criminal investigation into this serious case," it wrote in a statement. "This is a suspicion of extensive use of public funds for partisan purposes, harming the education system and public trust. We call on the police and the prosecutor's office to investigate the case thoroughly and as quickly as possible and to prosecute all those involved. We will continue to monitor the progress of the investigation and work for standards in public life."
Biton's office did not offer a comment but later announced that he intended to file a lawsuit in retaliation.