Quote:The day the Mossad operation on German soil began was a clear, sunny Sunday in late March 2009. Alexander Verin, who holds an Israeli passport, had an appointment with an attorney in Cologne to discuss naturalization. Verin was accompanied by a man named Michael Bodenheimer, who claimed that he was an Israeli of German descent. Bodenheimer wanted to apply for a German passport, but Verin, who had made the appointment, was doing most of the talking.


The two men explained that Bodenheimer's father Hans had emigrated to Israel to escape Nazi persecution. As proof, the Israelis showed the attorney what they claimed was the parents' marriage certificate, as well as a passport. In such cases, which number around 3,000 a year, Article 116 of Germany's constitution provides for a relatively straightforward naturalization procedure. The two Israelis were staying in a Cologne hotel. Bodenheimer would later rent an apartment on a run-down street in Cologne's Eigelstein neighborhood, in a nondescript, sand-colored apartment building with a pizza takeout restaurant on the ground floor, near the railroad station. It was the perfect, cheap apartment for someone who didn't want to be noticed.
On June 16, 2009, the attorney submitted the naturalization application to a registry office in Cologne. A German passport was issued in the name of Michael Bodenheimer two days later. It looked like a routine procedure.
But it was everything but routine when the passport was used in January in connection with the murder of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

Quote:"The U.S. companies identified by investigators include web-based firms that pair freelance job-seekers with employers and transfer payments between them, the Journal said. Authorities have identified financial transfers from several intermediary businesses into prepaid, cash-card accounts used by suspects in the Dubai killing, according to international investigators.

Quote:Suspected Mossad agent lands in Israel after released in Germany

Uri Brodsky released on bail following his extradition from Poland to Germany on Thursday.

By Roman Frister


WARSAW - The Israeli suspected of forging a German passport allegedly used in the January assassination of a Hamas operative landed in Israel last night. The arrival of the man, identified as Uri Brodsky, came after a German court released him on bail following his extradition from Poland to Germany on Thursday.
A court in the German city of Koln subsequently said Brodsky will be allowed to leave the country while proceedings against him continue. He will be represented by his attorneys in court.
Brodsky, who is expected to face charges of forgery, faces a maximum penalty of three years. The Polish court that authorized his extradition limited the ability of German authorities to charge him with more serious crimes, noting the only available evidence related to the illegal procurement of a German passport. According to Polish sources, even before his extradition was approved, a secret deal had been reached by which Brodsky would be allowed to return to Israel, with guarantees that if he is sentenced to jail time he will be sent back to Germany. German legal experts believe the court will only fine Brodsky and not ask for jail time.
Brodsky, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Poland in early June, and is charged with helping procure a German passport through forgery. The German media reported that he used the name Alexander Verin when he assisted another alleged Mossad agent, who represented himself as Michael Bodenheimer, the son of a German Jew named Hans Bodenheimer, in acquiring a German passport.
Responding to the news that Brodsky was released on bail, the United Arab Emirates says it is seeking clarification from Germany on why it released an alleged Israeli spy wanted in connection with the slaying of a Hamas operative in Dubai. Emirati Foreign Ministry official Abdul Rahim al-Awadi said yesterday that the UAE has asked Berlin for an explanation of why Brodsky was released while the case is ongoing.
Brodsky is accused of illegally helping to procure a German passport used in connection with the January 19 assassination of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, allegedly by a Mossad hit squad.
The UAE authorities maintain that more than 30 suspects were involved in the hit, and that they used passports from Britain, Ireland, France, Australia and Germany. The use of apparently fake passports from other countries led to diplomatic friction between Israel and those countries, including the expulsion of Israeli diplomats in some cases.