The Financial Crimes Unit of the Israel Police's 443 Major Crimes Unit have arrested four suspects after busting a counterfeiting operation that was producing fake Israeli coinage, the police announced Tuesday.
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For a few months, the Financial Crimes Unit has been conducting an undercover investigation of the operation, which was based in Ashdod. The owner of a local factory is suspected of cooperating with three other suspects to convert the facility into a counterfeiting operation making fake five-shekel and 10-shekel coins.
Police also suspect that one of the suspects used numerous bank accounts to launder over 5 million shekels ($1.6 million).
Early Tuesday morning, detectives from the Financial Crimes Unit, along with representatives of the Bank of Israel's Currency Department, raided the factory and confiscated dozens of loose five-shekel and 10-shekel coins, raw materials, printing blocks, and sophisticated machines that were apparently used to produce the counterfeit coins.
During the raid, police arrested two individuals who were allegedly caught red-handed in the act of counterfeiting the coins. Raids on some of the suspects' homes resulted in more counterfeit coins being confiscated.
The four suspects face charges of producing counterfeit currency; installing or owning tools to produce counterfeit currency; fraudulent receipts of goods; and tax evasion and money laundering. They were brought before the Magistrates Court in Rishon Lezion Tuesday morning for a remand hearing, at which it was decided to remand three of the suspects until Dec. 9 and one until Dec. 8.
The Bank of Israel said it "congratulates the Israel Police and the 443 Major Crimes Unit's Financial Crimes Unit on the successful operation that helped considerably in the war against counterfeiting. This operation once again shows the importance of close cooperation between the Israel Police and the Bank of Israel. Cooperation will continue in order to battle counterfeiting, which must be contained.
The Bank of Israel urged the public to check to see that banknotes bore the Bank of Israel's watermark, information about which is available on the Bank of Israel website.
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