The Tax Authority is publishing the decisions of the Committee for Imposing Financial Sanctions on Reporting Violators, who failed to report to customs on the import and export of funds to and from Israel in 2024. The publication contains 207 decisions, for which the total financial sanction amounts to over 2.3 million NIS. 45% of the violations were committed at the Jordan River crossing, 25% at Ben Gurion Airport, and 30% at the Begin crossing.
According to the Prohibition of Money Laundering Law, there is a reporting obligation for the import or export of funds to or from the State of Israel in an amount exceeding 50,000 NIS at air and sea border crossings, and 12,000 NIS at land border crossings. Transferring funds through border crossings is one of the most recognized and sensitive operational patterns in the field of money laundering, as it is a convenient way to transfer cash without documentation and traceability.
Among the decisions in this file:
- A financial sanction totaling 100,000 NIS was imposed on a traveler who entered Israel with her son on July 15, 2024, through the “Ben Gurion Airport” border crossing, carrying funds totaling 92,100 US dollars (a total value of approximately 344,418 NIS) without reporting them. The traveler is a US citizen receiving a National Insurance pension. Regarding the source and destination of the funds, the traveler claimed that the funds consist of a National Insurance pension and money from her children’s work, and that they are intended for the purchase of a plot of land in the village of Biddu. The traveler submitted documents to the committee but did not present relevant evidence for her claims, and therefore the committee did not accept the traveler’s version regarding the source and destination of the funds. Regarding the circumstances of the violation and awareness of the reporting obligation, the traveler claimed that she is not familiar with the reporting obligation in Israel and therefore did not believe she had to report the funds in her possession. She also claimed that she did not notice the signs posted at the border crossing indicating the reporting obligation and that she is illiterate. The committee considered all the circumstances of the case, including the fact that the traveler concealed funds in various places in her luggage and presented contradictory versions during her interrogation. Based on the committee’s considerations, the committee decided to impose a financial sanction of only 100,000 NIS on the traveler. After the traveler appealed to the Magistrate’s Court, the financial sanction was reduced from 100,000 NIS to only 65,000 NIS. Decision 102/24.
- A financial sanction totaling 589,679 NIS was imposed on a couple of travelers who departed Israel on August 13, 2024, through the “Jordan River” border crossing, carrying funds totaling 160,000 US dollars (a total value of 601,714 NIS) without reporting them. The travelers are a married couple, citizens of the State of Israel, who were leaving Israel for Jordan to fly from there to Turkey, along with their minor son. Regarding the source and destination of the funds, the female traveler claimed during her interrogation that the funds belong to her husband and that their source is from gifts received by their two sons at their weddings. When asked where they converted the money to dollars, she claimed that the money belongs to her husband and that she does not know its source. In contrast, the male traveler claimed during his interrogation that the source of the funds is from savings he accumulated since 1999. When asked in which bank he converted them to dollars, he replied that a person he did not know, whom he met on the street in Ramallah and knew “deals in money,” converted the shekels he had, the amount of which he does not remember, and that this person gave him dollars without counting the shekels. The traveler did not present any evidence and did not mention his sons’ weddings at all during his interrogation as a possible source for the funds he converted to dollars. However, during the hearing before the committee, the travelers presented a different version. Both claimed that the source of the funds is from savings from the pension the male traveler receives and from the weddings of two of their children. The travelers claimed that the funds are intended for the purchase of an apartment in Turkey for their son, but each claimed a different amount for the cost of the apartment they intended to purchase, and they did not present any documents regarding the apartment in question. Regarding the circumstances of the violation and awareness of the reporting obligation, when the female traveler was asked by a customs inspector how much money she had, she initially replied that she had only 10,000 dollars. When asked why she did not state the full amount she had, she replied that she did not want to be delayed and did not want to be asked questions about the source of the funds. The travelers claimed they were unaware of the reporting obligation and that they did not see the signs, but the female traveler admitted during her interrogation, and also at the hearing before the committee, that this was not the first time she had transferred funds to Turkey without reporting them and that there were several occasions when she left the country with funds exceeding the reporting threshold, even if she left via Ben Gurion Airport. The committee viewed seriously the fact that the female traveler did not declare the truth regarding the amount of money she was carrying, as well as the fact that this was not the first time the couple had violated the law requiring reporting. The committee found their version, especially regarding how the money was converted to dollars, to be unsubstantiated and unreliable. Therefore, the committee decided to impose a financial sanction on the travelers equal to the value of the seized funds, totaling only 589,679 NIS. Following the travelers’ appeal to the Magistrate’s Court, it was decided to reduce the financial sanction by 100,000 NIS, and therefore the total final financial sanction imposed on the travelers amounts to only 489,679 NIS. Decision 136/24.
- A financial sanction totaling 409,530 NIS was imposed on a traveler who departed Israel by car on September 4, 2024, through the “Rabin” border crossing, carrying funds totaling 81,350 Jordanian Dinars (a total value of 421,530 NIS) without reporting them. While the traveler was waiting in the passenger hall, he was asked if there was anything in his vehicle and replied that there was nothing in his vehicle. However, during an inspection of the vehicle, the gas tank was x-rayed, and after foreign objects were seen inside, it was dismantled from the vehicle. Inspectors found bags containing banknotes inside, as well as tools for plumbers and disposable gloves. When asked why he told the customs inspectors that there was nothing in his vehicle, he replied that he was afraid they would take his money. When asked where the money was, he replied that the money was “in the roof,” that he didn’t know exactly where in the roof but that it was “above his head.” A further search of the vehicle did not find any money in the roof of the vehicle, contrary to what the traveler claimed. When confronted with the fact that the money was found in the gas tank, he claimed that he put the money into the gas tank with his hands. Regarding the source and destination of the funds, the traveler claimed that the funds belong to his family, with each family member contributing one thousand dinars to help two cousins detained in Jordan and to pay for their lawyer. He could not say why they were detained, to whom he was supposed to transfer the money, or the name of the lawyer who was supposed to receive the funds. When asked again which family members he was supposed to meet in Jordan, he replied that they were relatives and not family, and named a Jordanian person he knows. In addition, the traveler claimed that he was unaware of the reporting obligation at the crossing. The committee was impressed that the traveler actually served as a courier and that it appeared he did not know where the funds were hidden, what their source was, or where they were intended. The committee viewed seriously the fact that the traveler lied to the inspectors, as well as the sophisticated concealment of the funds intended to prevent the authorities from locating them. Based on these considerations, the committee decided to impose a financial sanction on the traveler totaling only 409,530 NIS. Decision 142/24.
Decisions of the Committee for Imposing Financial Sanctions – 2024