Israeli online payment processor under investigation

The Israeli publication Haaretz reports that local credit card firm ICC-Cal is under investigation following allegations that it has illegally handled online financial transactions for international internet gambling companies.

The police economic crime unit in Israel is carrying out the investigation and has claimed that the company, under the leadership of former CEO Boaz Chechik between 2007 and 2010, committed various crimes including money laundering, false coding on credit card transactions, the acceptance of bribes, falsifying corporate reportage and illegal processing of online gambling transactions.

Chechnik, who stepped down as CEO when the scandal first broke in 2010, has denied any wrongdoing.

The company is alleged to have facilitated online financial transactions between Israeli residents and porn and online gambling sites operating outside the country, although the police did not give specific information on the websites involved, saying only that the investigation has involved several countries on different continents.

ICC-Cal is believed to have made “hundreds of millions of dollars” through its illegal activity, the police investigators said.

The company has already been fined a total of Euro 12.6 million by Visa and Mastercard, and this, accompanied by management changes at the company, appears to have satisfied their concerns, but there are now official calls for a criminal trial.

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