9 nabbed in alleged NIS 100m. tax evasion scam
01/29/2013 01:12
For over a year, a group of men in the Negev allegedly filed bogus tax receipts on gasoline shipments in Israel.
Isreli currency. Photo: Reuters
For over a year, a group of men in the Negev filed bogus tax receipts on
gasoline shipments in Israel, as part of a NIS 100 million tax evasion and
money-laundering scam, Negev sub-district police announced on Monday.
The
scam came to light after police and tax authorities carried out a series of
predawn raids in the Negev, arresting nine suspects police say are affiliated
with organized crime gangs in the Negev. The raids, which came after a nearly
yearlong undercover investigation, were carried out at homes, offices, and gas
stations where the men allegedly managed the conspiracy.
The men stand to
face charges of tax evasion, tax fraud and money laundering.
Head of the
YAMAR Negev Commander Dudu Bohani said Monday that the investigation was part of
police efforts to fight organized crime by targeting their sources of revenue,
in order to “force them to collapse.”
On Monday afternoon the nine
suspects will be brought before the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court, where police
will seek an extension of their remand.
The case is one in a long series
of joint investigations by police and tax authorities against organized crime
families in Israel, which have targeted their sources of revenue instead of
focusing solely on violent crimes committed by the organizations.