The Israel Police has announced the official removal of Yoav Eliasi, known as "The Shadow," from his volunteer position as a commander of a rapid response squad in the Tel Aviv District. This step comes in the midst of a sensitive criminal investigation conducted against him by the Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID). According to Walla reports, Eliasi appeared at the Tel Aviv branch of the PIID in early August and was questioned under caution on suspicion of breach of trust. At the end of the initial questioning process, Eliasi was barred from police facilities for one week, and his personal weapon was confiscated.
The criminal procedure against Eliasi follows the publication of an investigation that exposed recordings in which Eliasi is heard boasting about his connections with figures in law enforcement. According to the suspected allegations, these connections were used to provide leniency and enforcement relief to the "John Doe" nightclub and a restaurant owned by his family members. The investigation claims that employees at the complex viewed Eliasi as a figure who could resolve problems with police officers in the field, and recordings were documented in which he instructed partners to contact him in any confrontation with the police. In the quoted recording, Eliasi referred to one officer as a close friend and stated he would take care of the issue of closing the nightclub.
As part of the same affair, three other officers, including an intelligence coordinator, were questioned on suspicion of assisting in providing those police favors to the Eliasi family business. The involved officers were removed from police facilities for a period of three days. It should be noted that even before the investigation became official, Police Commissioner Rav-Nitzav Danny Levy decided to terminate Eliasi's activity in the command position, and with the opening of the PIID process, this decision became binding and official.
Legally, the investigation focuses on the question of conflict of interest and the exploitation of Eliasi's status within his volunteer activity in the police to promote private business interests. Information regarding Eliasi's business involvement in the entertainment complex, including the transfer of shares between family members and a shared company address, is part of the factual infrastructure being examined by PIID investigators. Law enforcement agencies continue to collect testimony from others involved in the affair to form a complete picture. As of now, these are merely suspicions under legal review, and no indictments have been filed in this matter. According to the report, no responses from Eliasi or his representatives have been released regarding the allegations.