Italy is requesting the extradition of three Israelis for suspected forex fraud. The three men may be prosecuted for allegedly operating a criminal organization, illegal financial activity, money laundering and aggravated fraud.
The arrest came following an extensive international investigation. The three Israelis allegedly held executive positions in a venture that defrauded many Italian citizens as well as other countries.
The men were arrested on 15 June 2022 by the Tel Aviv District Fraud Division following the issuance of an arrest warrant.
The arrested men are according to local reports are:
Daniel Cohen (41)
Amos Barzilai (66)
Daniel Cordian (38)
Daniel Cohen's father, Aber Cohen (83) was arrested in Italy several months ago. He is currently staying in a hotel in Rome with an ankle bracelet according to the reports.
The Forex Fraud Allegations
The three men are suspected to have operated a network of Italian websites that only appear to provide trading in financial products. The call center was based in Poland.
The salesmen promised high returns for investors where in fact no investments were made with the invested capital according to the allegations. The investors were lured by the high returns that were promised to them.
From the complaints that were gathered in Italy, investors were facing difficulties in withdrawing their funds. Some were allegedly told to wait between 20 and 25 days. Others were told to send a tax payment in order to release the funds.
The money that was raised for investors in Italy alone is expected to be at least 12 million euros. The funds were funneled via various banks in different countries using shell companies.
The shell companies were located in Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Georgia, Seychelles and Vanuatu.
The companies operated in Italy without a required license. It has been estimated that the total amount that was transferred via the banks is approximately 35 million euros.
1.5 million euros were transferred to an Israeli company, the shareholders of the Israeli company were the arrested men.
The joined investigation between Italy and Poland began in 2019. The investigators were able to trace the the Polish company that operated the call center. At a later stage, Israel joined the investigation.
Israel has been cracking down heavily on financial crimes. Last month three Israeli citizens were charged with money laundering, tax evasion and investment fraud.
