two Franco-Israelis arrested in Israel

Several people, including two Franco-Israelis, were arrested on Monday August 15 in Israel as part of an investigation into suspicions of partial unemployment fraud in France valued at several million euros, learned the correspondent of Radio France at Jerusalem Tuesday, August 16. The two Franco-Israelis were the subject of an international letter of request.

They were arrested as part of an investigation for “whitening” and “tax evasion” carried out by the Israeli authorities, in connection with a judicial investigation opened on January 5, 2021 in France by the National Court in charge of the fight against organized crime (Junalco) for “scams and organized gang attempts”, “organized money laundering” and “conspiracy”, learned franceinfo from a judicial source. An investigating judge from Junalco and investigators from the Central Office for Combating Illegal Labor and the Toulouse Research Section are currently in Israel as observers, according to a judicial source.

Nearly 4,000 requests compensation

This judicial investigation concerns nearly 4,000 fraudulent claims for compensation, the total of which is estimated at nearly 14 million euros. Three people have already been indicted in this case since June 2021, a judicial source told franceinfo. A Franco-Israeli 30-year-old is in pre-trial detention in France, adds a source familiar with the matter, confirming information from AFP. Investigators seized 1.7 million euros in small bills in a box during his arrest.

Short-time working fraud exploded during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the French government implemented financial aid for businesses closed for health reasons. The Paris prosecutor’s office had estimated it at 182 million euros in November 2020, of which 54 million could have been diverted before being intercepted.