American Companies Issued Debit Cards to Alleged Dubai Assassins
Michael Isikoff Mar 2, 2010 06:24 PM
Some of the alleged assassins of a Hamas leader in Dubai obtained debit cards through two U.S. financial companies—one of them headed by a former member of the Israeli special forces—according to a statement by one of the companies released Tuesday.
The company, MetaBank of Storm Lake, Iowa, confirmed that it had provided "prepaid" debit cards to a number of the suspects being sought by Dubai police for the alleged asphyxiation of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
But MetaBank said it had no direct contact with any of the alleged assassins who were using its debit cards. Instead, the firm said, the cards were issued through a New York contractor, Payoneer, which serves as "program manager" for its cards. As The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, Payoneer's chief executive, Yuval Tal, described himself as a former Israeli special-forces soldier during an appearance as a commentator on Fox News during the 2006 Lebanon war. More
Some of the alleged assassins of a Hamas leader in Dubai obtained debit cards through two U.S. financial companies—one of them headed by a former member of the Israeli special forces—according to a statement by one of the companies released Tuesday.
The company, MetaBank of Storm Lake, Iowa, confirmed that it had provided "prepaid" debit cards to a number of the suspects being sought by Dubai police for the alleged asphyxiation of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
But MetaBank said it had no direct contact with any of the alleged assassins who were using its debit cards. Instead, the firm said, the cards were issued through a New York contractor, Payoneer, which serves as "program manager" for its cards. As The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, Payoneer's chief executive, Yuval Tal, described himself as a former Israeli special-forces soldier during an appearance as a commentator on Fox News during the 2006 Lebanon war. More
Mark Hosenball Mar 3, 2010 10:00 AM
Investigators from the Australian passport office and the country’s Federal Police are on their way to Israel to look into what Stephen Smith, the Australian foreign minister, described as a “serious abuse” of three Australian passports. Smith told a press conference that it was not yet clear whether the Australian passports used by suspected members of the hit squad that allegedly suffocated Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were forgeries or whether they were real documents obtained under false pretenses. He did say that the misused passports were issued in 2003, before security improvements were made to the Australian passport design.
Smith added that the three Australian nationals whose identities were apparently stolen were presently residing in Israel. He also said that Australian government representatives had been in contact with either the real passport holders or their family members. Smith said that while Australia was presently unable to make any conclusions as to whether Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, was behind the Dubai killing, it expects full Israeli cooperation for its passport inquiry. He added that he had advised Israel’s ambassador to Australia that “if we didn’t receive that cooperation, then we would potentially draw adverse conclusions.”
Investigators from the Australian passport office and the country’s Federal Police are on their way to Israel to look into what Stephen Smith, the Australian foreign minister, described as a “serious abuse” of three Australian passports. Smith told a press conference that it was not yet clear whether the Australian passports used by suspected members of the hit squad that allegedly suffocated Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were forgeries or whether they were real documents obtained under false pretenses. He did say that the misused passports were issued in 2003, before security improvements were made to the Australian passport design.
Smith added that the three Australian nationals whose identities were apparently stolen were presently residing in Israel. He also said that Australian government representatives had been in contact with either the real passport holders or their family members. Smith said that while Australia was presently unable to make any conclusions as to whether Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, was behind the Dubai killing, it expects full Israeli cooperation for its passport inquiry. He added that he had advised Israel’s ambassador to Australia that “if we didn’t receive that cooperation, then we would potentially draw adverse conclusions.”
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 4:34 PM
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