Government to examine scrapping NIS 200 bill in bid to combat tax evasion, money laundering

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructs government ministries and the Bank of Israel to examine the possibility of abolishing Israel’s NIS 200 notes as a measure to combat “black money” and money laundering.

Netanyahu asks the Finance Ministry, the governor of the Bank of Israel, the director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Israel Tax Authority, and the headquarters for fighting crime in Arab society in the Prime Minister’s Office to convene and hold discussions on the proposed measure.

The move comes after a group of businesspeople and former senior government officials earlier this month submitted a proposal to remove Israel’s largest bill from circulation in an effort to restrict the use of cash and help in the battle against tax evasion and money laundering, according to reports in the Hebrew press.