Tel Aviv.– An indictment was filed at Petah Tikva District Court in Tel Aviv, Israel, against five suspects on charges of illegal gambling, tax offenses and fraud, as well as suspicion that, between 2000 and 2002, they ran a network of almost 100 gambling computer programs situated in Internet cafes, kiosks and lottery stations across the middle east country.
According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.com, the indictment states that customers who lost money at the betting venues would pay on site with cash or check. The bets would be registered in the Dominican Republic, with daily reports of financial transactions produced in Cyprus and distributed in Israel.
The suspects have been named as Meir Abergil, Yoram Zarfati, Yoel Schneider and brothers Reuven and Ezra Gavrieli. Charges were also filed against the companies owned by the suspects.
The Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office said the gaming venues were effectively being used as casinos, and the indictment indicates that the gambling operations brought in revenues of tens of millions of shekels. The "Net Casino" program distributed to gaming venues was developed by the firm "Bet and Chat," owned jointly by two of the suspects, the paper reported..
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