A magistrate in Ashkelon issued an order yesterday prohibiting the French-Jewish financier, Claude Lipsky, from leaving the country pending an investigation requested by the French government which claims that Lipsky was the key figure in a major financial scandal. The court ordered Lipsky to turn in his passport to local police pending completion of the investigation. But the fugitive, who arrived in Israel Sept. 29 after wanted bulletins were issued for him in France, did not show up in court. He could not be found at the address he gave the court and to which the judge’s orders were sent.
France has formally requested Lipsky’s extradition but there is no extradition treaty in effect between France and Israel. The court inquiry is a regular procedure under a European convention to which France and Israel subscribed in 1967. Lipsky is wanted in connection with the failure of his and other mutual fund companies which specialized in real estate investments. The charges brought against him carry a penalty of up to ten yeas’ imprisonment. When he arrived in Israel, Lipsky denied wrong-doing and accused the French authorities of anti-Semitism. He said they were only after the Jewish businessmen involved in the affair.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
