Israeli Forex Fraud Suspect Nabbed in Morocco: Multimillion-Dollar Scam Unravels at Casablanca Airport

Known to the Israeli police unit Lahav 433, the Israeli businessman was arrested after landing in Casablanca from Dubai where he was on vacation with his two young children, reports the Hebrew media Mako. Suspected of orchestrating a large-scale Forex fraud that allegedly defrauded thousands of German citizens of several tens of millions of euros, he was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the German authorities. "He was shocked when he was presented with the international arrest warrant issued against him by Interpol. They had been working on his case for several years and were waiting for his departure from Dubai to find him," said a Moroccan source involved in the arrest. And to add: "The Germans have prepared an extradition file and have surrounded him on all sides. I think he will be extradited within a few days."

The businessman is said to have rented large offices in central Israel and in several Eastern European cities about three years ago and employed dozens of workers posing as investment company owners. He is said to have defrauded German citizens wishing to invest their money. He was on the radar of the Lahav 433 investigators. They had repeatedly requested court orders to seize his assets worth several tens of millions of shekels, including a villa in Herzliya Pituach valued at around 25 million shekels (6.7 million dollars).

The German law enforcement authorities are said to have obtained evidence implicating him in one of the largest Forex frauds in Germany. Pending his extradition to Germany, which he is contesting, the businessman is currently being held in a detention center in Rabat. The Moroccan law enforcement authorities expect to receive additional elements and documents from the Israeli police to support the charges against him.

The second Israeli arrested at the Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca is a resident of a town in the Israeli Sharon region. His vacation in Morocco was cut short. He is the subject of a complaint for extortion and kidnapping. Kidnapping orchestrated in Israel. The victim, a relative recently settled in France, filed a complaint with the French authorities, claiming to have been kidnapped and victim of extortion in Israel and forced to pay 200,000 €. This complaint led to the opening of an investigation and the issuance by Interpol of an international arrest warrant against the suspect. Until his arrival in Casablanca, he was unaware that he was being sought. After his arrest, he was transferred to a detention center in Rabat that houses foreign nationals awaiting extradition or deportation.

The Israeli national denied the allegations, but the French authorities provided the Moroccan justice system with a file containing the victim’s complaint and additional testimonies. The Rabat court is expected to examine the extradition request to France in the coming days.