Eli Cohen, an ultra-Orthodox resident of Bnei Brak, aged 64, a resident of central Israel, was arrested today at Ben-Gurion Airport when he attempted to leave the country - at the request of US authorities. Cohen was arrested after a federal indictment was filed against him, which includes offenses of exporting US military equipment without a license and money laundering in the years 2000-2004, and offenses of trading security equipment with Iran in violation of a presidential order, which were recently passed.
The International Affairs Department of the State Attorney's Office asked the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court to extend his detention, under Article 7 of the Extradition Law, to allow US authorities to submit the formal extradition request. The extradition request will be submitted by US authorities within 60 days.
Cohen founded a company called EVS about twenty-five years ago, whose business was to purchase armored vehicles and export them abroad after renovation. The company received a license from the Ministry of Defense. However, the company then expanded, employed dozens of workers, and is suspected of selling NGM engines to a South Korean arms dealer and three Iranians.
It was the Portuguese security service that uncovered the deal and passed the information on to Israel, the United States, and South Korea. In 1993, the FBI arrested Cohen in the United States, and he was indicted for illegal exports to Iran.
History of arrests
At trial, the American prosecution had difficulty proving Cohen's trade ties with the Iranians, and in a plea bargain, the man admitted to violations of American export laws and was sentenced to six months of house arrest, which he served in 1995.
Israel also later had difficulty proving Cohen's guilt, and he was acquitted of charges of illegal sales to Iran but was fined for the illegal use of an export permit.
During the years 2000-2002, Cohen was arrested again on suspicion of selling military equipment to Iran, but the prosecution again had difficulty proving his guilt. Now, as mentioned, he was detained again in light of the request of the US authorities.
The extradition case is being handled by Attorney Nina Mansour from the International Affairs Department at the State Attorney's Office, in cooperation with the Intelligence Division of the Israel Police (Interpol Squad) and Lahav Unit 433 (Yachbal).
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