Police may seize property of suspected trafficker in women

Police may seize property of suspected trafficker in women
By David Ratner

Haaretz Correspondent - March 18, 2004 Adar 25, 5764

Police are due to request Thursday, for the first time in Israel, to confiscate the property of a man suspected of trafficking in women, in accordance with the law against money laundering.

The request will be submitted in an indictment at the Haifa District Court against Simion Livshitz, 44.

The money laundering law enables police to confiscate property and funds they suspect have been acquired as a result of a felony - in this case trafficking in women - and which the suspect has no logical explanation for having earned.

Police captured Livshitz with the help of one of the women he allegedly employed, who arrived from the Caucasus to Israel through Egypt and was traded several times until she was allegedly purchased by Livshitz in 2003.

The woman recorded information on each client to whom she was sent over a period of four months, including how much money she received for her services. Police used the information to calculate the money Livshitz allegedly made from employing her and other women. The sum, over a million shekels, is presumed to have come from the felony of women trafficking, is considered to be a form of money laundering, and therefore can be confiscated.

Police have already confiscated NIS 100,000 in cash from Livshitz, as well as his car and apartment. Police believe that the anti-money laundering law will be a very efficient tool in the fight against women trafficking.