Israeli con artist arrested in Marrakech after Interpol manhunt

The arrest took place in the middle of the night, in early April. An elite police unit surrounded a discreet property in the Palmeraie, arresting a man calling himself Yair Bibert. Behind this facade of a quiet retiree was actually a 70-year-old Israeli citizen, targeted by international warrants for extensive fraud and identity theft operations.

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The suspect primarily targeted donors from the Jewish diaspora or synagogue leaders, according to Jeune Afrique. Armed with fake American documents in the names of Shalom Ohayon or Aharon Zada, he presented himself as a wealthy philanthropist wishing to finance community causes. The scheme was well-oiled: he promised to transfer money, requested bank details, then claimed a transfer blockage to demand payment of additional fees. The promised donations never arrived.

The individual’s criminal history is staggering. He has accumulated nearly a hundred criminal cases and approximately thirty-five years in prison. In the 2000s, he had already gained notoriety by posing as a television producer. Convicted in 2006 in Tel-Aviv for fraud estimated at 700,000 dollars, he continued his activities after his release. His victims number in the hundreds, from Japan to Brazil, passing through Germany and Ecuador.

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After his arrest, the septuagenarian was transferred to Rabat where he awaits his fate. Moroccan justice must now make a decision. It will have to choose between opening proceedings locally, justified by the use of forged documents on Moroccan soil, or his extradition to Israel or Germany.