Rabbi to the real estate stars Yoshiyahu Pinto will now be questioned on American soil by Israeli police regarding allegations of attempting to bribe a senior Israeli police officer for information, the Yeshiva World News reported. The orders allow the police to question the rabbi on his side of the story.
As previously reported, Pinto allegedly offered Brigadier General Ephraim Bracha, the chief of the Police Investigation Division, $200,000 in an effort to get information on the probe into Pinto’s suspected money laundering, which Bracha was investigating. A Pinto spokesperson denied the allegations and said that the meeting was set up for the rabbi to disprove the allegations he faces.
Pinto claims that he became the victim of extortion and was instructed to deliver a suitcase full of money to Bracha.
Pinto’s October arrest for alleged bribery happened while claims that millions of dollars in real estate investments that he’s connected to were not accounted for, as The Real Deal reported. —Zachary Kussin