State considers indicting Arkadi Gaydamak, pending a hearing

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
The state prosecution has informed billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak that it is considering indicting him over allegations of money laundering and fraud, pending a hearing. Gaydamak was questioned on the matter by the Serious and International Crime Unit in May. Gaydamak vehemently denies reports that, in 2000, he transferred nearly half a million shekels out of a Bank Hapoalim account as part of a larger money laundering plot. A Bank of Israel investigation into the transfer, launched after it emerged that the transaction was not reported to Israel's central bank as required by law, has also implicated a number of Bank Hapoalim officials in the affair, according to reports.