A scheme involving deadly bootleg alcohol that has already claimed the lives of six people and blinded three others took a dramatic twist on Wednesday when one of the suspects under investigation was revealed as Felix Siboni, the father of Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev.
Three weeks ago, police officers raided a warehouse in Moshav Ahuzim owned by Siboni and his business partner. Officers found some 1,500 bottles of counterfeit alcohol containing high levels of methanol.
"Criminal proceedings have been opened against the suspects," the police said in a statement. "They were questioned under caution, after which they were released under restrictive conditions."
Speaking to Israel Hayom on Wednesday, Regev said, "My father is an honest man. He is decent and virtuous.
"My father worked hard to provide for his family with dignity. My father and his partner ran a beverage business in the south for many years. They did it with decency, integrity and professionalism. My father and his partner were defrauded – they purchased alcohol and later learned, to their amazement, that it was counterfeit.
"The police have summoned them for questioning and they have fully cooperated with the investigators."
Regev continued: "The sale of counterfeit alcohol is a serious phenomenon we must eliminate. I trust the police and am entirely hopeful they will find those who sold and continue to sell fake alcohol to business owners. I have no doubt the investigation will end in complete exoneration for my father and his partner, and I am certain they didn't know the bottles they purchased were fake. I love my father and have faith in his integrity and decency."
A Health Ministry official involved in the investigation said, "When the tax on alcohol was raised, the counterfeiting shot up. The goal was to reduce alcohol consumption with higher prices, but it created a huge market for counterfeits."
Authorities in Beersheba recently launched an operation to remove counterfeit alcohol from corner store shelves. But the number of casualties from counterfeit alcohol consumption has continued to climb since May.
Similar affairs elsewhere in the world have ended in mass deaths.
Attorney Micha Gabay, who represents Siboni, said: "He was indeed investigated as a suspect, but was released without any restrictions and continues to work as usual. Any businessperson can fall prey to one scheme or another. Only in hindsight did he [Siboni] realize something wasn't kosher, and he stopped selling [the alcohol], informed the police and cooperated.
"There's no doubt in my mind that it will become apparent he didn't know anything and they [the police] will still have to find those who are distributing illegal products."
On Wednesday, the police said that "a special investigative team, together with the Israel Tax Authority, Health Ministry and civilian prosecutor, discovered three warehouses in the south in recent weeks where thousands of bottles of alcohol suspected of being counterfeit were stored. The investigation was never hidden from the public - quite the contrary. Public interest in being aware of this matter is of utmost importance."
