December 29 - The Petach Tikva District Court in Israel filed an
indictment this week against five crime figures on charges of illegal
gambling, fraud, money laundering and various tax offenses. In addition, the
five Israeli men are suspected of running a network of over 100 computers which
supported gambling programs between 2000 and 2002.
The network of gambling computer programs were placed around the
country at internet cafes, kiosks and lottery booths. It is believed that the
operation managed to rake in tens of millions of shekels.
These indictments follow the arrest of a few other businessmen
involved in online gambling a few months ago and indicates that the Israel
authorities are stepping up their fight against illegal gambling in the country.
The five suspects were named and includes a pair of brothers, one
of which is the father of a former member of the Israel parliament. Companies
owned and run by the five suspects also had charges filed against them.
The complicated operation, known as Net Casino, involved bets being
registered in the Dominican Republic and daily reports of all the gambling
machines' financial transactions and activity were produced in Israel and
Cyprus. Gamblers who lost money on the machines were required to pay by cash or
check on site.
It is believed that Reuven Gabrieli was the brain behind the entire
operation and that his partner, Motti Menashe, was his second-in-command. The
other three men who were charged were more involved in the distribution and
maintenance of the machines around the country.
The suspects' various properties and assets were also to be seized
and included items like luxury homes, cars and agricultural holdings.
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