According to reports in Israel's Haaretz.com and the Globes Online, three men were arrested for attempting to blackmail the CEO of Empire Online, Noam Lanir. The prime suspect is Motti Menashe, suspected by the police to be connected to organized crime.
Noam Lanir, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Avi Lanir, an Israel war hero, filed charges with the police about 2 months ago. He had been receiving phone calls demanding control over his company, Empire Poker, which coincidentally just floated on London's AIM prior to the phone calls for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Because the phone calls made it clear Empire Online's CEO and family were under a serious threat to be attacked, should he not comply with the extortionist's demands, the police put him under close protection and started an undercover operation.
The police has since then arrested three suspects. The Magistrate's Court extended the custody of the three earlier this week, pending the outcome of ongoing police investigations. A spokesman from the police commented: "We have evidence that unequivocally connects the suspects to the crimes".