An investigating judge from the Paris court and gendarmes are currently in Israel, as observers, as part of an investigation into a partial unemployment fraud in France in which several suspects have been arrested, we learned. Tuesday, August 16 from a judicial source.
The arrest in Israel of several suspects is in connection with "
an investigation carried out by the Israeli authorities for money laundering and tax evasion in connection with an open judicial investigation
" by the Paris prosecutor's office under the National Jurisdiction in charge of the fight against financial organized crime (Junalco) on January 5, 2021, said this source in Paris.
“4000 fraudulent requests”
According to sources familiar with the matter, they are four men and one woman, all Israelis.
They are suspected of having laundered some of the money and converted the sums into cryptocurrencies.
Israeli police on Monday arrested "
three main suspects
" and "
a number of others
" suspected of belonging to a criminal organization that allegedly usurped the corporate name and identification number of existing companies to demand the payment of compensation in France in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fraudsters then allegedly laundered “
tens of millions of shekels using complex mechanisms
” of cryptocurrency.
The suspects were taken into custody for questioning, Israeli police said.
"
An investigating judge from Junalco as well as investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Illegal Labor (OCLTI) and the Toulouse research section in charge of investigations (in France) are in Israel
" as observers, said the judicial source.
The judicial investigation in France for fraud and attempts in an organized gang, money laundering in an organized gang and association of criminals concerns "
almost 4000 fraudulent requests for compensation for short-time working
“, she clarified.
The damage to the state is estimated at 8.5 million euros, according to a document consulted by AFP.
Read alsoPartial unemployment, solidarity fund … These companies suspected of fraud
Three people have been indicted since June 2021 in this case, including a 31-year-old man who has been remanded in custody.
The man is notably suspected of having opened bank accounts and rebound accounts in Lithuania into which public funds and laundered funds were paid.
He denies being "
the leader of this scam
", according to his lawyer Me Philippe Ohayon.
"
This procedure underlines the quality of the cooperation between Junalco and the Israeli judicial authorities as well as the perfect police cooperation in the fight against the scams carried out from Israel against French victims
", estimated the judicial source.
