US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV3223

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 003223 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, EFIN, GOI INTERNAL, ECONOMY AND FINANCE, COUNTERTERRORISM 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL POLICE TALK POLICY AND TACTICS TO COMBAT 
MONEY-LAUNDERING DURING DEA SEMINAR 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 1637 
 
Classified By: Economic Counselor William Weinstein for reasons 1.4 (b) 
 and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  An Israel National Police (INP) official 
outlined the GOI's fight against money-laundering and other 
offenses during the DEA Asset Forfeiture Seminar held May 15 
to 19 in Tel Aviv.  The  official described methods used by 
criminals to transfer illicit profits, and how the GOI's 
penal and forfeiture laws are used to stop them.  He also 
discussed the GOI's cooperative work with national and 
international law enforcement organizations to fight 
money-laundering.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Moving Dirty Money, Israel as the Focus of Enforcement 
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2. (C) On May 15, Econoff attended the DEA Asset Forfeiture 
Seminar in Tel Aviv, where more than 40 GOI law enforcement 
officials listened to presentations on U.S. Department of 
Justice efforts in combating money-laundering and asset 
forfeiture.  After a brief introduction by DEA Special Agent 
Tom Varvitsiotis, Deputy Inspector David Katz from the INP 
kicked-off the seminar on how the GOI fights 
money-launderers.  Katz said electronic transfers to straw 
accounts, underground banking, and use of couriers are major 
venues for transferring dirty money.  All three methods are 
vulnerable to law enforcement detection, with underground 
banking being the most difficult to track. 
 
3. (C) Katz next pointed to typical offenses and sentencing 
laws.  An individual involved in a money-laundering offense 
may receive up to a ten-year maximum prison sentence, said 
Katz.  These offenses, he continued, range from the most 
serious, including murder to the lesser crimes of gambling 
and prostitution. 
 
4. (C) Katz also described Israeli laws pertaining to 
financial reporting. Katz said any individual transferring 
80,000 shekels or more across Israel's border must report it. 
 Financial institutions are also required by law to report 
suspicious account activities, said Katz (reftel).  Failure 
to report such activities is a prosecutable offense. 
Cross-border electronic (one million shekels plus) and cash 
(50,000 shekels plus) transfers must also be reported, he 
continued.  Criminal and civil forfeiture laws under the Anti 
Money-Laundering Statute allow the judicial system to punish 
those failing to meet or those intentionally avoiding 
reporting requirements. 
 
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GOI and Foreign Countries as the Focus of Enforcement 
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5. (C) Israel's Legal Assistance Law, which allows for 
international cooperation in criminal proceedings or civil 
forfeiture, he said, has been very effective.  Any resident 
of Israel, or an Israeli citizen, may be prosecuted in an 
Israeli court for an act committed outside of Israel, said 
Katz, provided that the act is punishable under both Israeli 
law and the law of the land where the act took place. A 
component of this act is to gather evidence helpful for court 
proceedings, he said.  Evidence gathering measures are many 
and varied, ranging from search and seizure, surveillance, 
telephone intercepts and electronic surveillance.  He also 
discussed information sharing with national and international 
law enforcement organizations. 
 
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Key to Success: Sharing Information 
----------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Katz noted that Israel law enforcement success in 
asset forfeiture and criminal prosecution has been a direct 
result of cooperation between GOI law enforcement elements 
and its national and international counterparts.  These 
counterparts include the Interpol, Israel Money Prohibition 
Authority (IMPA), and others.  Katz went on to say that 
electronic and physical surveillance, human intelligence, and 
police data-bases provide additional information which is 
shared among all units working on a single or multiple cases. 
 
 
7. (C) Katz provided statistical data on GOI efforts against 
money-laundering.  He said over 3000 intelligence reports 
dealing with money-laundering were produced.  Information was 
extracted from 300,000 crime-for-profit case files.  In 2001 
there were nine investigations and 15 indictments, he said. 
In 2001 asset seizures totaled USD 3.2 million, and in 2004 
this figure reached USD 35.8 million.  Katz noted that 
credible information led to the initiation of 101 IMPA active 
investigations in 2004 leading to 15 indictments. 
 
8. (C) Information sharing has contributed to successes, said 
Katz.  Information sharing and intelligence reports, the 
deputy inspector indicated, increased from 1160 in 2002 to 
3072 reports in 2004.  Computerized systems such as the 
"PETEN, BACH, AHAM (VIP)" help law enforcement officials 
gather financial information on transactions, intelligence, 
and legal data, he added. 
 
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