Lady Turns $3K Bitcoin to $320K but Israeli Bank Calls for Claim Denial

Another bizarre incident came to light as Hapoalim Bank, recently filed a letter of defense to dismiss the claims of the 69-year-old pensioner, Esther Freeman to permit the deposit of $320K profit.

Freeman claims that she made high profits from a $3,000 worth of Bitcoin investment almost nine years ago.

A New Tug O’ War

Reports by local media outlets, point out that the bank claims that its insistence on denying the deposit was because of cases where digital currencies are used to facilitate money laundering and terrorist financing.

Freeman, reportedly filed a lawsuit against the bank, last year in November, demanding the entity to declare that the source of money invested in Bitcoin is ‘known, clear, and supported by references.’

A statement by the bank, however, noted that it was not possible to trace the path of the money. Further, they couldn’t connect Freeman to the crypto purchase done in 2013. That said, the bank has not even been able to make a connection as to when she moved the funds from her account towards the purchase of the Bitcoins.

The bank’s statement further said:

“Only in cases where the funds used to purchase the virtual currency and the proceeds went out and returned from the same account can the receipt of the funds be confirmed – then the plaintiff did not meet this condition.”

Money Trail Lost

The bank further pointed out that there is no substantial evidence of the BTC purchase because Freeman did not buy the said cryptocurrency from a registered exchange instead from a private individual in exchange for cash. The statement read:

“The plaintiff failed to present actual references to the purchase price of the virtual currency.” 

Associating financial risk from such kinds of transactions, the Bank of Israel noted that back in 2012 authorities had mandated banking organizations to not accept deposits of funds from crypto transactions.

However, in Freeman’s defense, her attorney said:

“It is very unfortunate to find out that Bank Hapoalim has decided to wage a bitter war on its longtime customer, a pensioner, whose only desire is to receive in her bank account money that belongs to her and originates from digital coins she bought many years ago.”

Notably, towards the end of 2013, BTC’s price was around $800, while the current price stands at $43,525.08.