4 Israelis arrested for scamming millions out of French Treasury

Four Israelis were arrested yesterday morning for scamming the French Treasury out of millions of Euros, using digital currencies in order to conceal their movements.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the four suspects, a couple from Haifa and two brothers from Petah, received funds after declaring to the tax authorities that they had been put on unpaid leave due to COVID-19.

They then converted the money into cryptocurrency, which was kept from Israeli tax authorities, with tax evasion charges totalling in the millions of shekels.

​​In addition, the investigation is focusing “on the suspicion of a large-scale fraud against the State Treasury in France that was carried out from Israel,” an Israeli police statement said.

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The suspicion refers to the offences of money laundering, receiving something fraudulently under aggravating circumstances and tax offences.

It allegedly involved the theft of millions of shekels “and the laundering of the funds by converting them to cryptocurrency”, the statement added. Police will ask a magistrate court to remand them in custody.

The investigation is being conducted in cooperation with Europe’s law enforcement agency, Europol, French police, the Israeli Tax Authority and the Cyber Unit at the Office of the State Attorney in Israel.