Israeli police have arrested three people suspected of a multi-million dollar money laundering scheme stolen from France's public treasury using digital assets.
An undercover investigation has been carried out over the past few months in conjunction with the Israeli police and the country's tax authority. Foreign investigating authorities, Europol and the French police, cooperated with the Israeli authorities.
According to investigators, a "large-scale fraud" with cryptocurrencies was committed against the state treasury in France. In doing so, they also consider the possibility that the crime was committed in Israel.
Under Israeli tax law, the sale of cryptocurrencies is subject to capital gains tax of up to 33%. On the other hand, if the activity is subject to business income tax, it can be as high as 50%. Israeli authorities said the crime was a perfectly organized crime group.
“Several suspects have formed a group to launder money from abroad and Israel. Some of these funds were obtained from crimes committed abroad using digital currencies on various platforms to hide the identity of the owners of the funds and their movement,” the departments said.
Along with the three arrested, several more citizens were detained for interrogation on suspicion of money laundering, fraud and tax offenses, as well as deliberate concealment of information about income.
Recall that on August 1, a law came into force in Israel that recommends the use of alternative methods of digital payments and prohibits transactions in cash and bank checks in large amounts.
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