Haifa Resident Charged With Spying for Iran After Digital Currency Payments

Israel’s Haifa District Court on Friday received an indictment against Raanan Ohana, 44, a Carmel resident, accusing him of espionage on behalf of Iranian intelligence. Shin Bet and the police arrested him on May 17 on suspicion that he carried out security-related tasks under Iranian direction. Prosecutors say the alleged contact ran from January to March 2026, including during the war known as Operation Rising Lion, and involved photographing sensitive sites and giving advice in his field of expertise, international cargo shipping. He allegedly understood he was dealing with an Iranian foreign agent.

According to the indictment, the alleged recruitment began in a Telegram job-seekers group in January 2026, when someone posing as a shipping professional contacted him. Ohana was asked to record a short personal introduction video and was paid 60 shekels. The next day came what prosecutors described as a gradual "recruitment" conversation, in which the handler, using the names Ronald Baker and Walker, asked about Ohana’s finances, military service, work, and personal background. Ohana reportedly claimed he had served in the Air Force and received 1,000 shekels for that exchange.

Prosecutors say Ohana then provided targeted information and tasks, including a document about export procedures, supply-chain steps, cargo handling, and security screening for hazardous materials shipped to Israel, along with answers to follow-up questions. He was also asked about how weapons could be moved from China to Israel under the label of "hazardous materials." The indictment says he transmitted a document based on his professional experience and internet research. He worked for years in international shipping and until November 2025 was an export liaison at Fritz, a company prosecutors said had no connection to the case.

Among other alleged acts, Ohana filmed a driving route from his home on President Boulevard in Haifa to a building on HaGalil Street in Neve Sha'anan on February 17, 2026, but after technical problems he sent a photo instead and was paid 300 shekels. In February he also sent information about the handling and inspection chain for hazardous materials, for 500 shekels. Prosecutors say he later updated the handler about trips to Prague and Berlin. After February 28, 2026, when the war began, he was instructed to go to a point in Rosh HaAyin and later to the Ein HaYam neighborhood in Haifa to photograph coastline images and look for American warships. He declined one assignment after suspecting it involved an operation against a protected person, but completed another for 100 shekels. In total, he allegedly received cryptocurrency worth about 2,500 shekels. The prosecution is seeking to keep him jailed until the end of proceedings, and the court extended his remand until further notice pending a later hearing before Judge Dr. Zaid Falah.