The government of Israel has indicted six people for their involvement in a corruption case tied to one of the country’s two main cargo ports, the port of Ashdod, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Among the people charged for bribery, extortion and money laundering in the period from 2010 to 2013, are the former union chief at Ashdod port Alon Hassan, the port’s former CEO Shuki Sagis, as well as David Hassan, Yaniv Belter and Uri Belter related to a logistics company Dana Port Group, and the attorney Ronel Fisher.
The people involved reportedly received an amount of around NIS 22 million (USD 5.7 million) in bribes.
Haaretz wrote that the prosecutors urged the court to impound a number of assets controlled by the former union chief, while Sagis’ representatives rejected the charges adding that “there is no justification, either evidential of legal, for an indictment” against the former CEO.
The other defendants, Yaniv Belter and Uri Belter, made plea bargains with the state attorneys under which they agreed to plead guilty in exchange for reduced charges for the committed crimes.
The investigation into the alleged corruption started two years ago when suspicious accounting in an agreement between the parties was found, which later led to the arrest of the six individuals.
World Maritime News Staff