Eilat Man Cleared of Money Laundering Charges Over Gold Coins

A police raid on a drug party in Eilat led to the discovery of hard drugs, along with 2,250 silver coins and 51 gold coins. Further information from the suspect led to the seizure of dozens more coins from his mother's apartment and Brink's safes. Initially, authorities suspected the coins were proceeds from drug trafficking and money laundering.

However, the suspect's attorney, Miki Huba, proved the coins were legally purchased from an Eilat gold shop using funds from the sale of a family property. Consequently, the money laundering and trafficking suspicions were dropped, and the indictment was reduced to drug possession charges only.

The Eilat Magistrate's Court ordered the return of the coins to the family. But when authorities went to release the seized items, customs officials refused to return some of the gold and silver. The state then claimed that transporting the coins from Eilat to central Israel required reporting under the Free Trade Zone Law.

Attorney Huba rejected this, stating the coins were moved for storage purposes only, not for sale. He argued that the delay in returning the coins prevented the family from capitalizing on rising gold prices, causing significant financial damage. After an appeal to the Beersheba District Court was dismissed on procedural grounds, the family intends to petition the Supreme Court.