Israeli forex boss in Limassol faces extradition

The lawyers of a foreign exchange company boss in Limassol, who has been arrested in Cyprus in connection with a multimillion takedown of illegal online investments in Germany, have asked for more time before their client appears for his extradition hearing.

According to local media, a 54-year-old man described as an Israeli national has until Friday to answer whether he agrees to his extradition to Germany, following his arrest and subsequent release on bail earlier this month.

Eurojust and Europol joined German authorities last week and coordinated law enforcement agents in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Holland, and Ukraine, taking down a major fraudulent online investment platform in Germany which defrauded victims for at least €15 million.

Greek Cypriot media said the the Israeli suspect was the boss of foreign exchange companies based in Limassol, while law enforcement agents also took down parts of the illegal scheme in Kiev and Sofia.

Reports also said the main suspect had been running a professional-looking trading site in so-called binary options, which projected high profits. After initial investments, victims were encouraged to pay more into the alleged investment fund, losing all of their money.

The lawyers of the Israeli suspect in Cyprus said they wanted more time to examine German documents, while according to Philenews there was a signal their client might not agree to his extradition.

In the past, Cypriot authorities have rejected extradition requests to Germany citing invalid or irregular paperwork filed by the federal prosecutor.

In Cyprus, agencies taking part in the takedown included the attorney general’s office, the anti-money laundering unit, as well as the justice ministry, as well as police including headquarters.

Cypriot defense lawyers have until Friday to scrutinize German docs before extradition hearing in alleged multimillion forex pyramid