ISRAEL POLICE TALK POLICY AND TACTICS TO COMBAT

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
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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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