Pinto allegedly passed 200,000 shekels (about $57,000; some reports have
the amount passed at almost double that, though) through his wife to
Bracha in exchange for information on the money laundering, tax evasion,
theft, embezzlement and fraud investigation against his charity, Hazon
Yeshiya.
Police: Indict ‘Kabbalist To The Stars' Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Israel Police have now recommended that the prosecutors indict Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto on charges related to the attempted bribery of senior fraud squad police officer Ephraim Bracha, Israel’s Channel 10 News reported.
Pinto allegedly passed 200,000 shekels (about $57,000; some reports have the amount passed at almost double that, though) through his wife to Bracha in exchange for information on the money laundering, tax evasion, theft, embezzlement and fraud investigation against his charity, Hazon Yeshiya, which allegedly sold food donations earmarked for Holocaust survivors on the black market, with top executives pocketing the cash and funneling much of it to Pinto for his own personal use.
Bracha reported the alleged bribe and police videotaped Pinto’s wife allegedly paying off Bracha.
She reportedly tried to commit suicide after the affair became public last year.
Pinto denies the money was a bribe and says the all cash payment was for medical expenses for a relative of Bracha’s.
During the investigation, Pinto tried argue that a rabbi-follower privilege similar to attorney-client privilege should be in force. No such privilege exists under Israeli law.
Pinto is a scion of both the Abuhatzera and Pinto Sefardi haredi ‘kabbalist’ rabbinic dynasties.
A rabbi and “business advisor” to many leading Israeli businesspeople (both in Israel and abroad), politicians and sports and media stars, Pinto is reportedly one of the top ten wealthiest haredi rabbis in Israel.