Former Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yona Metzger has reportedly reached a plea agreement with state prosecutors over a slew of corruption and bribery charges involving some NIS 10 million ($2.5 million).
Metzger will plead guilty to fraud, theft, conspiracy, breach of trust, money laundering, tax offenses and accepting bribes, in exchange for a reduced jail sentence, Channel 2 reported Wednesday.
The plea deal was offered after months of negotiations between Metzger’s attorneys and senior officials in the State Attorney’s Office, the report said.
The report did not provide details on the length of the prison sentence the former chief rabbi would receive under the agreement.
Last year, the Jerusalem District Court charged Metzger with accepting some NIS 10 million ($2.58 million) in bribes. He is accused of keeping NIS 7 million ($1.8 million) for himself.
Metzger stepped down as chief rabbi on July 24, 2013, due to the pending fraud investigation, just before the end of his 10-year term in office.
In 2014, the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit opened a months-long investigation into alleged scams linked to Metzger involving millions of shekels. The case was then handed to the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office, which examined it before passing it on to then-attorney general Yehuda Weinstein, who brought the charges against Metzger…
MORE: Ex-chief rabbi to plead guilty in NIS 10m. fraud case — report | The Times of Israel