Hapoalim Bank Reportedly Disallows 69-Year-Old Israeli Woman From Depositing Her BTC Gains

After seeing her Bitcoin investment multiply more than a 100 times, Hapoalim Bank has reportedly denied Esther Freeman from depositing her profits of about $320K. According to the bank, Mrs Freeman didn’t just become a HODLer overnight, but had used cash for her initial investment which could have been gotten from anywhere.

Hapoalim Bank Cites ‘Connection To Illegal Operations’ As Reason For Denial

According to reports, the 69-year-old Esther Freeman is an Israeli pensioner who made her first Bitcoin investment of ILS 10,000 (worth roughly $3K at the time), some 8 years ago. However, that investment is now worth ILS 1,000,000 ($324K). But, Hapoalim Bank – one of the leading traditional banks in the country – have now denied accepting the profits, stating that the initial investment source might have had a link to illegal financial activities.

69-year old retired citizen of Israel, Esther Freeman, says she decided to delve into the cryptocurrency market in 2013, after her younger relatives convinced her to do so. The decision made her invest around $3,240 at the time, even without any prior knowledge on the subject.

But now, even though Freeman has managed to have her investment multiplied by 100 times, Bank Hapoalim has refused to deposit the amount transferred from the FIAT-cryptocurrency platform she used. Their reason being the fact that she her initial deposit those long 8 years ago, was made in cash.

Is Cash Perhaps The Problem?

Hapoalim bank still believes that Freeman’s cash investment many years ago could have come from any sources at all, including ‘money-laundering or terrorist financing’.

Meanwhile, to better her chances of claiming her funds, Freeman hired the services of Shaul Zioni as her law attorney and then opened a lawsuit against the bank.

In addition, the court has now ruled that the bank should not restrict account activity to its clients for the simple reason of being linked to digital currencies. Hapoalim bank has also received the case in good fate, and vowed to properly go through its details.