Kfar Saba Mayor and Wife Implicated in Major Municipal Corruption Probe
Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar and his wife face severe corruption allegations involving cash bribes, rigged municipal tenders, and criminal intimidation, police say.
The corruption investigation surrounding Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar and his wife, Meital Saar, has revealed new details regarding an alleged bribery scheme. According to senior police sources from the Yahch anti-corruption unit under Lahav 433, Meital Saar is considered the central figure who allegedly orchestrated the system, while her husband acted as the executive arm within the municipality.
During interrogations, Meital Saar has largely maintained her right to silence, offering only the statement that her husband "did not know" about the alleged actions. Her defense attorney, Chaya Zion Zakai, noted that her client is in a severe psychological state and unable to properly respond to questioning. During a remand extension hearing, Meital Saar broke down in tears, expressing deep concern for her two teenage daughters.
Details of the Alleged Bribery Scheme
Investigators allege that business owners and interested parties paid substantial cash sums—ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 shekels—merely for an initial meeting with the mayor's wife to set the bribery mechanism in motion. The investigation spans eight sub-affairs, notably involving municipal tenders, summer school renovations, and food truck concessions in city parks. Police suspect that those who cooperated with the alleged scheme were awarded lucrative municipal projects, with the financial burden ultimately being passed on to the public through inflated project costs.
Investigators have also confronted suspects with wiretapped conversations and recovered digital media and documents. Notably, the police discovered the involvement of criminal elements allegedly used to threaten competitors and force them to withdraw from municipal tenders—a tactic rarely seen in white-collar corruption cases within public authorities.
Response from the Mayor and Defense
Mayor Rafi Saar has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that he never took a single shekel and was entirely unaware of any illicit activities. However, law enforcement officials have rejected this defense, arguing that the couple acted in tandem and that the mayor actively facilitated the decisions in municipal committees and the municipal economic company to benefit preferred contractors.
The ongoing investigation follows a year-and-a-half covert phase before transitioning to an open probe. Authorities continue to process the collected evidence as the legal proceedings unfold.
