The suicide of former Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball chief Moni Fanan on Monday has made major headlines in the UK press because of the alleged link to London stockbroker Nicholas Levene's disappearance.
The (London) "Times" reported that friends of Fanan said that he had boasted of his dealings with Levene. The paper said that, "Fanan's links to Levene had left him ₤12 million in debt to former players, basketball coaches and club managers."
It is now clear that for many years Fanan had been an unofficial investment bank for many in the basketball world, offering attractive returns for money which was invested with him.
Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team chairman Shimon Mizrachi told journalists that he had no idea that Fanan was acting as an investment banker.
Sources inform "Globes" that an investigation launched by the income tax authority into Fanan's affairs has so far not uncovered anything exceptional.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 21, 2009
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