The Israel Police Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit (Yahav 433) detained a former district court president and a lawyer for questioning on Tuesday on suspicion of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. They were being brought in for interrogation at the Yahav 433 offices on Tuesday morning.
The two suspects are former Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Orenstein and former Israel Bar Association Efi Nave, who, according to the Haaretz report, were involved in the alleged conspiracy under which Nave would have certain judges preside over specific cases and have his cronies promoted to judicial appointments, in exchange for having Orenstein being tapped to the position of court president.
הנחקרים בלהב 433: אפי נווה ונשיא בית המשפט המחוזי לשעבר איתן אורנשטיין עוכבו לחקירה pic.twitter.com/JzJ9MEor1z
— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) May 28, 2024
The Israel Police launched the investigation in the wake of reports by Haaretz that two months ago showing that therer was an alleged kickback scheme between the judge while he was serving on the bench, and the prominent lawyer.
Officers from the unit arrived at the suspects' homes, conducted searches, and detained them for questioning at the Yahav 433 offices.