Draft Indictment in Israel's 'Pruta Affair' Alleges 10 Billion Shekel Money Laundering
A draft indictment in Israel's 'Pruta Affair' attributes tax and money laundering offenses exceeding 10 billion shekels to 11 suspects and four exchange companies, marking a record sum for a single case.
A draft indictment presented during a pre-indictment hearing for suspects in a major financial criminal case, dubbed "Operation Pruta" (The Small Coin Affair), attributes tax offenses and money laundering totaling more than 10 billion shekels. If filed, this would represent the largest sum of tax and money laundering offenses ever attributed to defendants in a single indictment in Israel.
The case was investigated by the Lahav 433 national police unit alongside the Tax Authority, with the accompaniment of the Central District Prosecutor's Office. The investigation targets a network of financial service providers (known as change-places) and criminal figures suspected of laundering hundreds of millions of shekels. The probe went public on September 6, 2023, when dozens of suspects were arrested and assets, cash, and luxury vehicles were seized.
According to the suspicions, the suspects engaged in criminal activity including loan sharking, fraud, conspiracy to commit a crime, violations of the Financial Services Supervision Law, alongside tax evasion and money laundering. This month, the suspects were summoned for a hearing before the filing of formal charges, where the draft indictment detailing the establishment of an illegal currency exchange network was presented against 11 suspects and four exchange companies.
Prior Criminal Records and Dummy Figures
According to the draft charges, the primary suspects, Ramadan Abu Jaber and Marwan Abu Zaid, sought control and ownership of credit service businesses. However, because Marwan possesses a prior criminal record including convictions for violence and property offenses, there was a reasonable concern that he would not be granted a financial service license. Consequently, Marwan never applied for a license and was never registered as an official in any financial institution.
Despite this, the draft charges allege that Ramadan and Marwan jointly controlled three different financial service entities while concealing their control from the Capital Market Authority, utilizing straw men as registered owners. Through these pirate networks, the suspects allegedly engaged in massive check-discounting operations.
Legal Framework and Scale of Alleged Laundering
The Supervision of Financial Services Law mandates that credit providers register under anti-money laundering regulations, while the Capital Market Authority holds the discretion to grant or revoke licenses based on applicants' integrity and background. The draft attributes money laundering offenses amounting to over 3.23 billion shekels to Ramadan Abu Jaber, approximately 6.78 billion shekels to Marwan Abu Zaid, and sums ranging from tens of millions to 2.6 billion shekels to other prominent suspects.
«The suspects remain under investigation, have not been convicted in this case, and are entitled to the full presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.»
