Distributed Fictitious Invoices in the Hundreds of Millions, Fled – and Was Extradited from Panama
Yaniv Moalem, convicted of running a fictitious invoice network that cost the state 65 million shekels, has been extradited from Panama. He had previously fled Israel to avoid a 10-year prison sentence.
Yaniv Moalem, a tax offender who confessed to running a network of fictitious invoices that deprived the state treasury of 65 million shekels, was extradited on Friday from Panama. He had fled Israel before serving a 10-year prison sentence.
In 2022, the Nazareth District Court convicted Moalem on two serious indictments for distributing and offsetting hundreds of fictitious tax invoices in the fuel industry, amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels, which resulted in a tax loss of 65 million shekels. The funds were laundered through money service providers, involving the withdrawal of tens of millions of shekels in cash and the concealment of their source.
Before his escape, as part of a plea bargain, it was agreed that the state would request a sentence of 10 years of actual imprisonment, alongside fines and property forfeiture. In September 2024, Moalem was located in Panama and arrested. Following an extradition process, he was transferred to Israel this week.
Upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, Moalem was transferred from Interpol officers to investigators of the Jerusalem Customs and VAT Investigation Unit and taken directly to court. There, the legal department of the Northern District Customs and VAT filed a request for his detention until the end of the proceedings, citing a real fear of further escape. The court granted the request and ordered his detention until a decision is made on the application.
