JERUSALEM — Israeli police say they have placed a prominent rabbi under house arrest and banned him from traveling abroad as they investigate allegations that he bribed a high-ranking officer for access to his police file.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Monday that Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto is under 15-day house arrest and a six-month travel ban.
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He said police questioned Pinto for three hours Sunday, but cut short the questioning after hearing that Pinto's wife had overdosed on pills. The Israeli media said it was an apparent suicide attempt.
Pinto, a multimillionaire rabbi with followers around the world, travels frequently to meet leading politicians and businessmen in the United States.
Pinto's spokesman Amir Dan says he denies the allegations. He had no comment on the suicide attempt report.
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