Israel

Israel sets up FIU

Israel’s Justice Minister, Yossi Beilin announced the establishment of a Financial Intelligence Unit in November which will enforce the anti-money laundering statute that was passed by the Knesset at the beginning of August. Israel was among the fifteen nations to feature on the FATF blacklist on non-co-operative jurisdictions. Under the new law the principal launderer faces up to ten years in prison. Associates who knowingly handle illicit proceeds are liable to seven years’ imprisonment. The FIU will receive reports from all major financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies, pension funds and bureaux de change. They will have to report all cross-border transactions of 80,000 shekels or more and new immigrants will have to file asset reports for holdings worth more than one million shekels. Lior Horev, who will head the unit, has asked for a staff of twenty. The FIU will accept both computerised notifications and manual reports and under the new law must be operational by February 2002 at the latest.