Did they know? Israel-U.S. startup linked to Dubai hit
Police claim 13 suspects in the assassination of Hamas use cards issued by Tel Aviv-based firm.
By Guy Grimland Tags: Israel newsEmployees at the Payoneer are still trying to understand what hit them: the Israeli startup company has faced a wave of unwanted publicity after Dubai police claimed that suspects in the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh used its credit card technology.
Payoneer provides prepaid credit cards, which means holders can fill them with money and use them, without the card being tied to a standard bank account. Thirteen of the 27 suspects used prepaid MasterCards issued by MetaBank, a regional American bank, in order to purchase plane tickets and book hotel rooms, said the Dubai police. The police then tied MetaBank to Payoneer.
It is still not clear how bad the publicity is. One source close to Payoneer said: "All such publicity hurts," but added that customers were unlikely to be deterred from buying the company's products.
Of course, what everyone wants to know is whether Payoneer knew, or even helped. Most people think there is no chance the company had anything to do with the affair, since the Mossad - if the Mossad was indeed responsible for Mabhouh's assassination - does not tend to reveal the details of its secret operations to Israeli startups.
If the hit team actually did use Payoneer technology, as the Dubai police claim, then the suspects bought the credit cards like any other customer would have.
Payoneer is a privately held New York-based company, with a research and development center in Tel Aviv. It has received funding from Greylock Partners, Carmel Ventures and Crossbar Capital, and has raised about $14 million so far. Its last fund-raising round was in July 2008, and the company is considered to be in good financial shape.
American authorities, and the banks named by Dubai, are reported to be cooperating with the Dubai police, including regarding the credit cards.
Complicating matters even more is the fact that Payoneer CEO Yuval Tal was a commentator for Fox News during the Second Lebanon War, and described himself as a former Israeli special operations soldier.
Tal told the Wall Street Journal last week that the company was very surprised by the news, but refused to comment on his service in the IDF.
"We are aware of the news reports," said Mary Kae Marinac, a spokeswoman for Payoneer. "We are cooperating with the bank and the authorities to explore the matter," she added.
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My faith in both is unchanged.
Yuval Tal--ceo Zohar Gilon,Charlie Federman,Iilan Kaufthal and last but not least , Michael Loeb. Gee all those names involved in money games---most unusual---right.
Dubai police chief has finally come up with the conclusion that the assassination was perpetrated by the Hamas people themselves. At the same time, they are trying to implicate the Mossad. But, Mabbouh, was pocketing bribe money for the purchase of weapons and he paid for that with his life.
I got some news for you - I know its hard for you to imagine but we would still have pc/macs and still be flying and recieving medical help in our hospitals without you, I know, shocking news but thats life.
Afghanistan is officially declared as a war zone. The US is working in cooperation with both the Afghan and Pakistani government on removing Taliban forces from the area. Dubai as far as we know is not exactly a war zone, and I doubt Israel has coordinated its activities there with the Dubai authorities.
Do not patronize any hospital, use medicine or the majority of software on your pc/mac.They are full of 'Jewish brains' behind them ! In fact do not go to any airport due to Israli technology & other proective measures being used. I can go on & on In case you or anyone else does not get the point. For a people less than 1% of the world population, we seem to be everyware. Be afraid... Boo
Tha is it! I have suspected that birthright was involved with thism from thebeginning. WEhat are we doing taking innocent americans to isrealand getting them involved in this. do their parents know what is going on?
So, it's okay for the US government to use drones to kill terrorists in Pakistan, but its not okay for the Mossad to use credit cards to kill a terrorist in Duabi (of course, that's assuming that the Mossad actually did it). Seems like you two are applying a double standard? :-)
Like a lot of people in the U.K we are sick of hearing that every thing that comes out of the U.S.A. AND ISRAEL IS TRUE. Remember the lies that came out about Israel not having nuclear weapons, Giving back PALESTINE, WANTING EVERYTHIND DONE THAT THEY DEMAND FROM THE U.N but TAKE NO NOTICE OF THINGS AGAINST IT. Remember Israel is a self made country taken from another, it is only 61 years old.
The US authorities need to determine if this company broke US law.
that's why every now and then Mubarak has Muslim Brotherhood members arrested. Arab states are the primary target for Islamic Extremists with Israel (just a decoy) used as a means of rallying the troupes.
I bet it will eventually come out in a few months or so providing there is no further risk to other operatives who are working the field. This was probably not an arbitrary hit.
This is BEYOND ridiculous, why don?t you implicate companies that make luggage, sneakers, tennis racquets and all other goods used by the hit squad.
Sorry, I think the operation, whoever did it, was a good one. First off, noone has proven it was Mossad. Haaretz itself reported yesterday that Hamas is now blaming Jordan/Egypt. Second, no matter what Israel does, the detractors emerge. So it really doesnt matter what they do. Woudl you rather they drop another bomb on an apartment complex to eliminate this terrorist? Or perform a clean hit?
Arab terrorist have lots of money and stay in some of the most expensive hotels. Perhaps they will think twice before making another reservation? of course they have already lost Israeli business. Sour grapes...
...crime scene investigators, security cameras, dedicated investigators/law enforcement people says that no serious crime will be examined to the full degree. Technology is everywhere and its almost impossible for any crime to be committed without being caught. Regardless if MOSSAD is involved or not, the perception is that the mossad is guilty. Perception becomes reality.
College of Judea and Samaria, in Ariel, Israel is beneficiary of contributions from Stanley Haar, the founder of MetaBank.
Investigators need to got to Isreal and interview every Israeli whose "identy was stolen" and check their passports for a Dubai stamp, give them a retina test and lioe detector test. If they are clean, as I suspect the world needs to know. Otherwise the next time they travel they are likely to be arrested. The lie detector test is to see if their country borrowed their passport for a few days.
Dig a little deeper into the connections mentioned in the article and the Payoneer connection to Israel is very tight. All three Venture Capital firms funding Payoneer were Israeli based. The partner at Greylock who funded Payoneer is Moshe Mor, a former IDF military intelligence officer. Carmel Ventures is strictly an Israeli outfit. Most interesting is Crossbar Capital, a one man show of Charlie Federman, who recently was Managing Director of BRM Group, owned by Eli and Nir Barkat. The Payoneer angle goes beyond it's CEO, Yuval Tal and his IDF Special Ops background. Payoneer does NOT provide their prepaid cards to the general public. You can only get their cards under the auspices of a corporate or non-profit organization. The Mossad operatives would have had to have contract with a cover company, just like Payoneer's contract with Birthright Israel, Taglit.
responsible for un-necessarily implicating completely innocent Jewish folk in assassination? WOW!!! I'm OUTRAGED at the thought. If completely innocent Muslim Australians of my age can be arrested, subjected to rendition flights, incarceration for years, torture BY WESTERN COUNTRIES, what's to stop the enemies Israel has made from doing the same to us, on the slightest of suspicions? No thanks. People are paid extremely high wages to undertake risks on our behalves, without implicating innocent Jewish folk.
And Ha'aretz should be ashamed of themselves. Israeli companies are active in every sphere of operations from hi-tech, to medical, to fabrics. So what Ha'aretz is hinting together with Dubai is that anything that has any connection to Israel, directly or indirectly, might be further proof of the Jewish (Israeli) quest for domination, and subsequently every Israeli company from this point on becomes a valid suspect in these crimes.
including intelligently moderating Hamas and merging the good elements into Fatah for Israel's moral, just and existential survival.
What a great idea. Good to know such an option exists. Great publicity.
It seems now more than a little farcical to keep up this "... if the Mossad" foolishness. After all think of the alternative, an organization that had successfully implicated Mossad in myriad ways, identity thieft, usage of a Israeli linked startup, etc. etc., would be the envy of Intelligence Adgencies the world over! Mossad is risking loss of credit... fess up!
I would have never known that company is Israeli. Another company that I will make sure not to patronize again. Its a front.