Last update - 00:00 06/10/2007
Israel requests Italian gov't extradite fugitive Heftsiba CEO
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
The State Prosecution's overseas department last week filed a request with Italy for the extradition of Boaz Yona, fugitive CEO of the collapsed real estate firm Heftsiba, officially beginning the extradition procedure.
Yona was arrested in Italy in August after fleeing Israel, leaving millions' worth of corporate debts. Upon his extradition, Yona will be indicted for embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and falsifying business records, among other allegations.
According to evidence obtained by the police and the State Prosecution, Yona defrauded banks and hundreds of home buyers, and embezzled about NIS 300 million.
Yona and his associates at Heftsiba were reportedly able to conceal their wrongdoing by illegally running a dual accounting record. According to the allegations, Yona did not transfer buyers' payments to the housing projects, leaving his clients with no guarantees of their purchases.
The Justice Ministry told Haaretz that the extradition request, submitted to the Italian government a week before the deadline, was the result of intense work in the midst of the holidays in a joint effort by the overseas and economic departments of the State Prosecution, the Tel Aviv District Prosecution, the Police National Fraud Unit and the Foreign Ministry.