The Spanish police have arrested six people, among them a former Mossad agent, on suspicion of involvement in a €450 million ($600 million) fraud on the London Stock Exchange.
The "Daily Mail" reports that Abraham Hochman, formerly a Mossad agent, and an Argentinian named Diego Magn Selva are thought to be among the six arrested.
One of the people under arrest is suspected of organizing the fraudulent scheme involving shares in a British company called Langbar International between 2003 and 2005. The company was delisted from London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2005, when the investigation began. The scheme was to create a bogus company, list it on the London Stock Exchange, use false documents and rumor to inflate the share price, and then sell shares at a profit. The company's market cap was $300 million when it was floated, and reached a peak of $600 million.
Oren Shimonovich, an Israeli living in London, confirmed to "Globes" details of the reports in the British press.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 28, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009