After international manhunt: Money laundering convict who fled the country extradited to Israel

Yaniv Mualem, convicted of money laundering and defrauding the state treasury of tens of millions of shekels, fled the country, was located in Panama, arrested, and extradited to Israel. Upon landing, he was remanded until the end of proceedings.

Yaniv Mualem, convicted in two serious indictments for money laundering and defrauding the state treasury of tens of millions of shekels, fled the country after admitting the facts in a plea deal. He was located in Panama, arrested by Interpol, and extradited to Israel. Upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, he was transferred to investigators from the Jerusalem Customs and VAT Investigation Unit and to court, where the court ordered his remand until the end of proceedings due to fear of further flight. Mualem ran a sophisticated network of shell companies and straw men to distribute fictitious tax invoices in the fuel industry worth hundreds of millions of shekels, while defrauding the state treasury of about 65 million shekels and laundering money through currency service providers. Under the plea deal, a sentence of 10 years in prison, heavy fines, and property forfeiture were agreed. The court also forfeited personal guarantees totaling about one million shekels from the guarantors.