Two Shas leaders of Cabinet rank have been linked to the hiring of private detectives who may have been asked to thwart the investigation of Interior Minister Arye Deri, the police indicated Tuesday.
They said the names of Communications Minister Rafael Pinhasi and Deputy Finance Minister Yosef Azran appeared in classified government documents concerning a meeting Deri’s lawyer had with the private investigators.
The detectives, Eitan Rilov and Yair Kruvi, confirmed that they were asked to meet with the lawyer, David Glass.
According to media reports, Pinhasi and Azran were at the meeting. But the police have not made clear what sort of work Deri’s associates wanted the investigators to do.
A government inquiry is being conducted into Deri’s supposed improper financial disbursements to religious institutions.
Glass has refused comment. The two Shas ministers denied they ordered a surveillance mission.
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