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Israeli police on Thursday announced the arrests of 44 people in connection with a $1 billion gambling and crime ring.
Predawn raids commenced in the cities of Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Holon, Rishon, LeZion and other cities across the Middle Eastern nation.
From Yeshiva World:
The arrests were made on the basis of intelligence about tens of millions of dollars obtained through illegal gambling operations by criminal gangs in central Israel. The Police set up a team to follow the money and the suspects, and discovered that the proceeds were obtained through a website “Donbet”. The Police said, “Donbet was a growth engine that is suspected of financing criminal gangs in Israel.”
Donbet allegedly provided many criminal gangs a new source of financing following the closing of Trade Bank after the embezzlement by Esther Alon in 2003. Donbet reportedly had a turnover of more than $1 billion over a 30-month period, on which the main suspects made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. The suspects allegedly used various means to launder the proceeds. The Police estimate that Donbet yielded to criminals $6-7 billion over its five years in operations.
Donbet is not to be confused with DonBest.com, a popular lines and picks provider.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
