Two Israelis arrested in Israel for coronavirus scam in France
Two Israelis have been extradited to France amid
investigations into a suspected scam the two conducted, pretending to work at
professional businesses that they claimed were in the process of developing a
drug to treat COVID-19, according to Ynet.
The scam succeeded in collecting 60,000 euros from three
French companies.
Israel Police issued an extradition order for the two
residents of Raanana who have French citizenship on Sunday. The two tried to
sell medical equipment necessary during the coronavirus outbreak to grocery
store chains in France.
The scam was conducted from within Israel, as they contacted
dozens of companies while pretending to be officials from an orgnization asking
for large sums of money.
After receiving complaints from French authorities, the
economic wing of Lahav 443 of Israel Police began a rapid investigation to
find, arrest and question the suspects in Israel. In similar past
investigations, the suspects were released to their homes until evidence was
presented for an indictment, a process which could take months or even years,
according to Ynet.
This time, Israel Police along with Interpol and French
police decided to act quickly and issued an international arrest warrant soon
after their arrest over the weekend.
"This is the first case of its kind," a senior
Israel Police officer told Ynet. "This is part of the fight against
international criminals who are trying to hide in different countries after
they carry out their crimes."
Leah Floss, the attorney for one of the suspects, called the
issuance of the arrest warrant "irregular" and warned that it raised
a number of legal questions. Floss added that there is "no doubt that this
is a dramatic, extreme and unprecedented process which is very doubtfully
legal," according to Ynet.
In March, two Israeli citizens were convicted by a court in
Paris of stealing 55 million euros, claiming that they worked for the French
defense minister and needed money to pay a ransom to liberate two kidnapped
French citizens, the BBC reported.
The scam in March was conducted from a house in Ashdod in
southern Israel.
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