A judge ruled Monday that Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David’s detention will be extended until Thursday, after police requested to keep the union leader in custody for another nine days in a far-reaching corruption probe, Hebrew media outlets reported.

He was arrested last week alongside his wife when police went public with the investigation, which was launched over two years ago. At the center of the probe is Bar-David’s insurance agent, Ezra Gabay, who was also arrested and is suspected of operating a massive bribery network.

Gabay allegedly exploited his close connections to the Histadrut chairman and Likud party officials to fix jobs for his associates.

Police suspect that Gabay, through Bar-David, handed out senior positions in government-owned corporations and local authorities in exchange for insurance contracts signed with his agency.

In her decision on the matter, Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court Judge Dorit Saban Noy said the Histadrut under Bar-David “was run like a private business,” Channel 13 reported.

She added that there is reason to believe that if freed, he will try to obstruct the investigation by attempting to coordinate suspects’ testimonies.

In addition to extending his custody for another four........

© The Times of Israel