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Israel Arrests 3 in Crypto Scheme to Launder Millions Stolen from France – Bitcoin News
Police in Israel have arrested three suspects who allegedly laundered millions of euros stolen from the French treasury through cryptocurrency transactions. The money came from government grants to companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Israeli law enforcement stops money laundering ring using coins to launder money for French fraudsters
Three people have been arrested in Israel this week on suspicion of providing money laundering services to criminals defrauding the French state. The operation follows an undercover investigation by Lahav 433, Israel’s special crime-fighting unit, the English-language Times of Israel online newspaper and major local media reported.
According to the publications, the authorities believe that those arrested have used various cryptocurrencies to launder millions of euros, which were then returned to the French clients, for which the Israelis were paid. Several other suspects have also been questioned as part of the work to unravel the scheme.
In addition to Lahav 433, the Yahalom investigative unit of the Israel Tax Authority and the cybercrime and international crime divisions of the Attorney General’s Office also participated in this effort. The Israeli police worked closely with their French counterparts and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), detailed in the reports.
While the Israelis started working on the case earlier in 2022, the French started the investigation last year. The fraudsters in France took advantage of the government program to support entities affected by the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when the European economy was hit by shutdowns.
The French organizers of the theft established fictitious companies and managed to seek and receive compensation payments granted by the government. Paris wanted to quickly deploy the funds to provide immediate relief to businesses that were suffering financially and implementing inadequate oversight.
They then used the money laundering services of the arrested Israelis who bought cryptocurrency with the money and exchanged it through several coins to hide the original source of the funds before finally buying fiat currency again. Police officials declined to fully explain how the system worked, but promised to provide more details soon.
Do you think Israel will arrest more people as part of the investigation into the money laundering scheme? Tell us in the comments section below.
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