The police's investigations branch head, Major General Yohanan Danino, on Sunday ordered the national fraud squad to probe officials in the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) suspected of irregular financial activity.

Danino's instruction follows a complaint made by the IAA's Director General, Gabi Ofir, after which the investigations branch made preliminary checks and decided to launch a comprehensive probe as "the issue of appointments of state employees by the IAA is of significant interest to the public."

At the beginning of August, Ofir petitioned State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss to review "political appointments, nepotism, lack of moral integrity and breach of trust by senior staff members, and the jeopardizing of passengers" at the authority.