On August 10, 2021, Israeli police raided the multi-million dollar home of Roey Hayun, a seed funder of the trading website 24Option.com. Police seized the home, froze Hayun’s bank accounts, and also took Audi, Range Rover, Polaris, and Bentley vehicles, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Rainbow watch, and a Cartier Panthere necklace, among other luxury items.
This was not Hayun’s first run-in with the law. In 2016, he pled guilty to bookmaking and money laundering charges. He was sentenced to 28 months, but won early release thanks to glowing recommendations from prison social workers, even though police and prosecutors were opposed.
Halfway through his stint, the Prison Authority abruptly sent him to what his lawyer described as “the toughest wing” of Rimonim Prison, after getting a tip from police that he was a member of the Musli crime organization. His lawyer denied any knowledge of such affiliation and said the move had put Hayun’s life in danger.
Now the police were back, and this time they were not after him for sports books or washing money. This alleged crime was bigger.
Late last month, police and public prosecutors in Cologne, Germany, announced that they were collaborating with Israeli police on an investigation into a suspected multimillion euro fraud though 24Option, a high-profile website that advertised on prime-time television in Europe and was an official sponsor, from 2014-2019, of Italy’s Juventus football club — and was the source…
