Cryptocurrency and binary options scam: Dozens of Israelis extradited to Germany

Dozens of Israelis have been extradited to Germany in connection with cryptocurrency and binary options scams that bilked victims of around 1 billion euros over five years, according to two local Israeli news outlets, Mako and Posta.

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The fraud also involved former Israeli footballer Liron Basis, who was arrested last week in Moscow at the request of German authorities. He is now in a detention center in Moscow and is expected to be extradited to Germany. Reports show that Basis is suspected of a fraud of around 30 million euros.

Basis hired a local lawyer and denied the findings against him. Many other Israelis arrested and extradited to Germany were represented by Nir Rotenberg and Gib Rotenberg, who managed to obtain lighter sentences for many, while some were released under house arrest until the end of the trial.

Bust gang operations

The local police revealed that Israeli criminal organizations operated from offices in Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak. They also ran operations from cities in Eastern European countries, such as Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, Prague, Bucharest, Tbilisi and others, employing dozens of German, Spanish and Italian-speaking staff.

The gangs’ modus operandi involved reaching out to pensioners in high-income European countries and persuading them to invest in binary options with the promise of high returns. They mainly targeted German citizens, which alerted German authorities.

“They set up front companies, employ local and Israeli youths to supervise them, and operate without a business license from those countries,” an Israeli police officer told Mako.

Binary options they are banned in many countries, including Israel. Many criminal groups, however, lure victims by offering tools that are very simple to understand: the reward is simply based on the upward or downward movement of an asset in a short period of time. These criminal gangs, however, usually do not invest the proceeds they collect from victims.

The Germans are a high value target

In another similar case of forex fraud, German authorities opened a case last month, naming two Israelis, Timor Rukhlin and Tal Aharon, both of whom were extradited to Germany.

According to the indictment published in the Post, Rukhlin was the head of a financial criminal organization that operated trading platforms under more than five different names and also targeted victims, mostly German, by telephone. According to the indictment, the organization defrauded 27 million euros, of which 10 million came from German speakers. Aharon, however, was part of a criminal gang based in Bulgaria, whose other members are also being chased by the German police.

The previous indictment by German authorities also linked Rukhlin and Aharon to Airsoft, the Israeli company that provided the malicious technology to conduct the fraud. Last September, the Israeli police raided Airsoft’s Ramat Gan offices, the financial tycoons reported. However, the mastermind behind Airsoft, Jeremy Katlan, also known as Roni Hajjaj, fled Israel and is still at large.

Rotenberg’s lawyers also represented Aharon and managed to obtain a release order for him while the trial is ongoing. The lawyers also softened the charges against Aharon, only for his involvement in fraud. Rukhlin is instead under house arrest.

Dozens of Israelis have been extradited to Germany in connection with cryptocurrency and binary options scams that bilked victims of around 1 billion euros over five years, according to two local Israeli news outlets, Mako and Posta.

The fraud also involved former Israeli footballer Liron Basis, who was arrested last week in Moscow at the request of German authorities. He is now in a detention center in Moscow and is expected to be extradited to Germany. Reports show that Basis is suspected of a fraud of around 30 million euros.

Dedicated Forex cloud solutions with stable and fast cross-border connections capable of high-demand scenarios. Alibaba Cloud helps Forex traders trade securely and globally. Click to learn more!

Basis hired a local lawyer and denied the findings against him. Many other Israelis arrested and extradited to Germany were represented by Nir Rotenberg and Gib Rotenberg, who managed to obtain lighter sentences for many, while some were released under house arrest until the end of the trial.

Bust gang operations

The local police revealed that Israeli criminal organizations operated from offices in Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak. They also ran operations from cities in Eastern European countries, such as Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, Prague, Bucharest, Tbilisi and others, employing dozens of German, Spanish and Italian-speaking staff.

The gangs’ modus operandi involved reaching out to pensioners in high-income European countries and persuading them to invest in binary options with the promise of high returns. They mainly targeted German citizens, which alerted German authorities.

“They set up front companies, employ local and Israeli youths to supervise them, and operate without a business license from those countries,” an Israeli police officer told Mako.

Binary options they are banned in many countries, including Israel. Many criminal groups, however, lure victims by offering tools that are very simple to understand: the reward is simply based on the upward or downward movement of an asset in a short period of time. These criminal gangs, however, usually do not invest the proceeds they collect from victims.

The Germans are a high value target

In another similar case of forex fraud, German authorities opened a case last month, naming two Israelis, Timor Rukhlin and Tal Aharon, both of whom were extradited to Germany.

According to the indictment published in the Post, Rukhlin was the head of a financial criminal organization that operated trading platforms under more than five different names and also targeted victims, mostly German, by telephone. According to the indictment, the organization defrauded 27 million euros, of which 10 million came from German speakers. Aharon, however, was part of a criminal gang based in Bulgaria, whose other members are also being chased by the German police.

The previous indictment by German authorities also linked Rukhlin and Aharon to Airsoft, the Israeli company that provided the malicious technology to conduct the fraud. Last September, the Israeli police raided Airsoft’s Ramat Gan offices, the financial tycoons reported. However, the mastermind behind Airsoft, Jeremy Katlan, also known as Roni Hajjaj, fled Israel and is still at large.

Rotenberg’s lawyers also represented Aharon and managed to obtain a release order for him while the trial is ongoing. The lawyers also softened the charges against Aharon, only for his involvement in fraud. Rukhlin is instead under house arrest.

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