Media Silent on Israeli Banksters' $1 Billion Fines for Tax Evasion Scheme

The 3 largest banks in Israel have been up to no good. Well, all banks are up to no good as far as I'm concerned, but that's beside the point here. Hapoalim Bank, Leumi Bank and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank are under fire for actively colluding with wealthy Americans in a massive tax-evasion scheme, and are being ordered to pay fines for their activity.

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The record fines imposed by the U.S. government collectively amount to over $1 billion. Israeli media has been reporting about the ordeal, but not much is being said on this side of the pond in the mainstream media.

The media blackout is so profound, that even Israeli media, like the Times of Israel, has specifically mentioned the blackout of this high-profile story. The U.S. media isn't usually shy on covering disclosures of tax-evasion schemes in offshore havens. The Panama Papers was covered, and that led to global protests and forced some world leaders to resign.

What could be the reason? Maybe it has to do with who funds the media. Maybe it has to do with who runs the media. Maybe the U.S. media and their wealthy backers and masters are not too keen on having public eyes turn towards to the behavior of the 1%. Maybe they feared another public backlash and protests that would bring more heat on them.

The banks have agreed to the fine in a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ). This is a result of an initial investigation by the DOJ started in 2007 which looked into the UBS AG bank which is the largest in Switzerland. Eventually they ended up looking at Israel and their banks in 2011, when they saw that the Swiss subsidiaries of Israeli's largest banks had helped Americans launder money.

The DOJ further learned that Israel's top 3 banks mentioned earlier, had been long collaborating with the wealthy Americans in tax schemes. They were doing this in Israel, in addition to their subsidiaries in Switzerland. The majority of the wealthy Americans were, surprise surprise (not really), Jewish Americans or dual U.S.-Israeli citizens.

Subsequently, in 2012, Israel was listed by the DOJ as a:

"major money laundering country… whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics trafficking … or other serious crime."

All three banks admitted to wrong doings, but it took time. The first was Bank Leumi in 2014 who reached a "deferred prosecution agreement" that resulted in a $4000 million fines owed to the U.S. government and the state of New York. This price tag had them avoid prosecution and further public exposure.

The seemed proud of their victory, stating it was "the first time an Israeli bank has admitted to such criminal conduct, which spanned over a 10 year period." Getting Mizrahi Tefahot to settle took a lot longer, and only concluded last week on March 13. Mizrahi Tefahot admitted guilt and agreed to pay $195 million.

Israel’s largest bank, Hapoalim Bank, has yet to reach an agreement with the U.S. government. Getting ready to pay their way out of prosecution like the other two, they had initially set aside $343 million, which has since increased to $616 million. The DOJ probes are hurting their profit performance, says the CEO, so they want it resolved ASAP and are willing to pay a nice chunk to wash it away.

Everything is about money. If you have the money, you can going to jail for most criminal behavior in the legal system. The rest of us, the 99%, don't have the wealth to get out of legal messes like the bankster crooks.

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References:

• Why are Israeli banks asking customers where their money comes from?
• Exclusive: U.S. tax-evasion probe turns to Israeli banks
• Media Blackout as Israel’s Largest Banks Pay Over $1 Billion in Fines for US Tax Evasion Schemes
• Major Money Laundering Countries

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