Shuvu Banim case: Extended remand of fifth suspect

Jerusalem Magistrates Court extended the detention of Menachem Yeshurun until Thursday.

At the opening of the case the attorney requested the hearing be held behind closed doors, and pointed out that the conflict between the various factions within the organization has come over the years to the point of real violence, which is why he was silent during interrogation because he was threatened. But finally he withdrew his application.

A police representative said that after an undercover investigation conducted over several months, on Monday of last week there were four arrests in the case. Later, following the investigation material accumulated - Menachem Yeshurun was arrested on Wednesday night. His detention was extended on Thursday to present (Monday). His attorney chose to submit the appeal which was rejected the next day on Friday. "Ever since we made seven investigative activities."

He said suspicion against Yeshurun strengthened considerably with further investigation involving at least ten of them in the investigation under caution. Meanwhile, יק stressed that the suspect kept silent.

In answer to the question how much the suspect was involved, police representative said that "the respondent has a major part of this well-oiled machine of Shuvu Banim and money laundering offenses as presented."

The suspect's lawyer, attorney Nadav Gedaliah, argued at the hearing: "This case explored openly and hidden dozens of people, some of them not only as witnesses, but to be involved. The police did not think to stop any of them even though the activity of some not at least some of the respondent in the court, including two who were questioned in the first wave of arrests. Police investigated these two waves to these arrests and investigated them under caution because they thought that would disrupt the trial proceedings, and the main ledger of all association of Shuvu Banim."

For one of the grounds for which the police requested a detention hearing, said, "When I talk about dangerous fear of disruption, things discovered apparent during the open investigation, the police did not go to court in secret and quickly get a warrant and a cruiser to stop him, but invited him on the phone to come to the detectives office. We sent a portable detective since his wife answered and then he came to my detective office. The claim that he is dangerous as if it interferes with the course of the trial it is not true.

"I expected to come here with a variety of new evidence which will strengthen the evidence against him, not with what was before Judge Romanov but with a number of actions. Given that there was no new evidence established no more than a suspicion that a junior. I'm sure the balance is release to house arrest in Yeruham with all the guarantees and without any means of communication. "

Judge Dana Cohen concluded: "Respondent is suspected of violations of the prohibition of money laundering, theft, fraud and aggravated forgery. Everything about the case concerning allegations of extensive fraud committed in connection with the Shuvu Banim association.

"I have reviewed the material and investigation activities conducted. Possible to say that since the detention hearings last investigation progressed and there were several not limited actions - considering the length of time elapsed. Moreover, there is a development expected in the investigation. Important for our purposes is that the charges against the respondent were strengthened and added to the evidence implicating seemingly significant degree of involvement of the respondent in the case. Hence not only reasonable suspicion exists but also strengthened.

"Given all this, and considering the amount of activities relating to the investigation at hand also respondent further investigation may take some time. I see a checkpoint set up to which the respondent's detention be extended up to 22.08.2013 at 12:00".

The suspect's lawyer, attorney Nadav Gedaliah said in response to B'Chadrei Charedim: "This is unnecessary overtime. We still claim he was being held only because of his silence in the investigation and arrest is meant to break him."

On Friday, Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem extended by seven days the arrest of Nachman and Nathan Berland, the son and grandson of Rabbi Eliezer Berland, who heads Shuvu Banim, and Aaron Tfilinsky and Eran Hochberg suspected of serious offenses of counterfeiting, money laundering and more.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!