Investigation
Yaniv Bertele
- Identity
- Yaniv Bertele
- Label
- Shell Network
- Industry
- Technology
- Role
- CEO Founder
- Jurisdiction
- Israel
ⓘ Weighted Risk Indicators
Yaniv Bertele
Former CEO of Vesttoo · Founder of Everoak Innovations
Primary Jurisdictions
Israel · Hong Kong (related proceedings) · United States (Vesttoo Chapter 11)
Investigation Period
2018 – 2025
Methodology
Open-source intelligence synthesis from court filings, regulatory disclosures, investigative journalism, and corporate registry data.
Intelligence Overview
Key findings from the OSINT investigation. All allegations are unproven unless legally established.
Snapshot Summary
Yaniv Bertele led Vesttoo through its rise to unicorn status and through the unraveling of one of the largest reinsurance frauds on record. Removed in 2023 amid board allegations of forgery awareness, he has since launched Everoak Innovations — a structurally similar life-insurance trading platform — while remaining outside the scope of any publicly reported criminal indictment.
Executive Summary
Yaniv Bertele is the Israeli co-founder and former CEO of Vesttoo, an insurtech firm that collapsed in 2023 after the discovery of approximately $3.36 billion in forged letters of credit underpinning its reinsurance transactions. Internal investigations commissioned by the Vesttoo board concluded that Bertele had knowledge of at least some of the forgeries, leading to his removal from the chief executive role in mid-2023.
Investigation Scope
Despite the scale of the fraud and his alleged awareness of it, Bertele has not faced publicly reported criminal charges. In 2025 he resurfaced with Everoak Innovations, a privately-held investment firm building a platform for secondary trading in life insurance policies — a structural and strategic echo of the failed Vesttoo model. This profile examines the resulting legal, reputational, and operational risk surface.
Intelligence Metrics Dashboard
HIGH RISKPublic source artefacts reviewed
Distinct media, court, and regulatory sources cross-referenced.
Jurisdictions touched
Israel, United States, and Hong Kong implicated in proceedings.
Corporate vehicles tracked
Vesttoo, Vesttoo Bay, Everoak Innovations, and related subsidiaries.
Risk Classification
Based on AML exposure, offshore structures & PEP associations
Biographical Profile & Career
Family Connections
Public records contain limited verified information about Bertele's family. He is reported to be Israel-based and operates within Tel Aviv's insurtech and investment circles. No spouse, dependents, or close family commercial associations have been disclosed in the public domain.
Bertele's most consequential professional relationship is with Vesttoo co-founder Alon Lifshitz, alongside whom he was named in clawback proceedings filed by the bankrupt Vesttoo estate. Both founders were jointly targeted by the board's internal review and the subsequent Tel Aviv asset-seizure motion that was ultimately overturned.
Business Ventures
Vesttoo Ltd.
Co-founder and CEO (2018–2023). Insurtech reinsurance platform; reached unicorn valuation; collapsed amid $3.36B forged-LOC scandal.
Everoak Innovations
Founder and owner (2025–present). Israeli investment firm building secondary market platform for life insurance policies.
Vesttoo Bay Ltd. (US subsidiary)
Delaware-registered subsidiary that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023.
Insurtech advisory activity
Reported informal advisory presence within Tel Aviv insurance-linked venture circles post-Vesttoo.
Career Timeline
Click an event for full details
Professional Career Timeline
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Vesttoo Founding
Co-founded Vesttoo with Alon Lifshitz to build an AI-driven platform connecting reinsurance risk to capital markets.
Career Overview
Corporate & Entity Mapping
Mapped corporate, banking, and human nodes touching Bertele's commercial footprint.
Russian-Registered Entities
None identified
No Russian-jurisdiction entities identified within Bertele's footprint.
—
Subject's network is concentrated in Israel, United States, and Hong Kong.
—
Russia exposure flagged as not applicable.
European & Offshore Entities
Vesttoo Ltd.
Israeli insurtech parent; insolvent following 2023 fraud exposure.
Everoak Innovations
Israeli privately-held investment vehicle launched 2025.
Vesttoo Bay Ltd.
US subsidiary that entered Chapter 11 protection in Delaware.
Beneficial Ownership & Control Analysis
Beneficial Ownership Flowchart
Tap an entity to view details · Drag slider to explore changes over time
Fraud exposed; CEO removed
Select an entity
Click any node to view entity details, jurisdiction, and ownership notes.
Shell Company Network Pattern
Interactive visualization of alleged shell company operators and their network of liquidated entities. Click an operator to highlight connections.
3
Total Director Roles
3
Total Founder Roles
67%
Liquidation Rate
$3.36B in fraudulent LOCs touched the network
Reported Financial Activity
Ownership Risk Summary
Beneficial transparency
Limited
Everoak privately held; ownership not publicly filed
Co-founder concentration
2 individuals
Bertele and Lifshitz dominated Vesttoo control structure
Continuity risk
High
Successor entity in adjacent sector to fraudulent predecessor
Key Concern
Bertele's transition from a fraud-stricken insurtech parent into a privately-held successor operating in the structurally similar life-insurance secondary market raises material concerns about replication of governance weaknesses absent enhanced oversight.
PEP Status & Core Allegations
PEP & Sanctions Screening
Yaniv Bertele is not a Politically Exposed Person under standard FATF criteria. He holds no government or state-linked office and is not affiliated with public officials in any jurisdiction reviewed.
No matches were identified on OFAC SDN, EU Consolidated, UK HMT, or UN Security Council sanctions lists at the time of this report. However, his name remains associated with active and recent civil and criminal proceedings in Israel, the United States, and Hong Kong tied to the Vesttoo collapse.
Knowledge of forged letters of credit
The Vesttoo board's internal investigation concluded that Bertele had knowledge of at least some of the forgeries underpinning the $3.36 billion fraud.
Fiduciary breach as CEO
Allegations that as chief executive he failed in oversight obligations regarding the authenticity of LOCs collateralising reinsurance trades.
Clawback target (dismissed)
Vesttoo's bankruptcy estate sought to seize assets of Bertele and Lifshitz; the request was overturned by a Tel Aviv court.
Reputational liability in Hong Kong proceedings
While not personally charged, Bertele is repeatedly named in coverage of the ICAC's criminal phase against bank insiders Lam and Lee.
Sector recidivism concern
Launching Everoak Innovations in an adjacent insurance sector has been flagged by trade press as raising governance and accountability questions.
International Property Holdings
Bertele has been the subject of sustained critical coverage across Israeli, US, and global insurance trade press from mid-2023 onward, with renewed scrutiny following the launch of Everoak Innovations in 2025.
Alleged International Property Holdings
8 identified locations · Sustained negative coverage across 3 jurisdictions
Filter by Jurisdiction
8 properties — click a marker for details
8
Tracked outlets
Majority
Critical sentiment
2023–2025
Coverage span
EN / HE
Languages
Reputation & PR Campaign Analysis
Mapping post-scandal narrative re-positioning attempts
Claim Verification Matrix
Each public claim cross-referenced against available OSINT evidence. Click any row to expand.
All claims are derived from publicly available OSINT sources. This table does not assert legal wrongdoing. Click any row to expand evidence and analyst notes.
Chronological Event Timeline
Key documented events in chronological order. Drag to scroll.
Scroll or drag to explore — click any event for details
10 documented events · 2018 – 2025
Risk Analysis Matrix
Four-quadrant risk assessment by impact severity and likelihood of exposure.
Critical Red Flags
Board-alleged forgery awareness
Internal investigation concluded Bertele had knowledge of at least some forgeries within the $3.36B fraud.
Removed CEO of unicorn fraud case
Removed in 2023 from one of the most significant insurtech collapses on record.
Successor entity in adjacent sector
Everoak Innovations operates in a structurally similar life-insurance secondary market.
Accountability gap
No publicly reported criminal charges despite scale of fraud and board accusations.
Insider complicity at counterparty banks
Hong Kong proceedings reveal alleged bribery of bank officers to authenticate forged documents.
Possibly fictitious investor identity
Yu Po Holdings, a purported Chinese backer of Vesttoo flows, may not exist as represented.
Limited successor transparency
Everoak Innovations is privately held with minimal public disclosure.
Cross-border legal complexity
Active and dormant proceedings span Israel, US, and Hong Kong.
Investigation Gaps
Personal financial position of Bertele post-Vesttoo is undisclosed.
Beneficial ownership and capital structure of Everoak Innovations are not publicly available.
Status of any non-public Israeli or US prosecutorial inquiry remains unknown.
The full chain of custody for forged LOC documents within Vesttoo's internal processes is not fully mapped in public sources.
Identity and corporate registration of Yu Po Holdings remain unverified.
Neutral Assessment
Yaniv Bertele occupies a high-risk profile defined by his role at the centre of the Vesttoo collapse and his subsequent return to the insurance-adjacent investment sector via Everoak Innovations. While he has not been criminally charged and the most aggressive civil claims against him have been dismissed, board allegations of forgery awareness and the structural similarity of his new venture to the failed predecessor create material reputational, regulatory, and counterparty risk that warrants enhanced due diligence by any party considering engagement.
All allegations described in this report are drawn from publicly available sources and remain unproven unless explicitly noted as adjudicated. The subject is presumed innocent of any uncharged conduct.
Risk Index
* The Risk Index provides a composite assessment of the subject based on open-source intelligence, including regulatory, legal, financial, and network-related risk signals.
VERDICT: The risk pattern reflects standard categories of scrutiny applicable to technology entrepreneurs operating in Israel, including corporate governance, data protection, securities disclosure, and cross-border financial compliance. No claims indicate verified misconduct; risk levels are predominantly low to moderate and reflect routine regulatory and reputational exposure consistent with the sector.
Risk Score
Index
Based on reviewed reviews & documented sources
Low Risk
Yaniv Bertele is reportedly linked to executive leadership in an Israeli technology venture, raising standard scrutiny over corporate governance practices.
2/10Moderate Risk
Bertele's business activities are alleged to operate within jurisdictions subject to evolving technology export and compliance regulations.
4/10Low Risk
Ventures associated with Bertele are reportedly examined under standard Israeli corporate registration and disclosure requirements.
2/10Moderate Risk
Bertele is reportedly active in fundraising and investor-facing activities that may attract scrutiny under securities disclosure norms.
4/10Moderate Risk
Industry reporting alleges that Israeli tech founders, including peers of Bertele, face heightened due diligence scrutiny from international investors amid geopolitical tensions.
5/10Moderate Risk
Bertele is reportedly connected to ventures operating in sectors under scrutiny for data protection compliance under GDPR and Israeli Privacy Protection Law.
5/10Low Risk
Public reporting links Bertele to a startup environment where employment and labor practices are under ongoing regulatory examination.
3/10Moderate Risk
Bertele's affiliated entities may be subject to scrutiny related to cross-border financial transactions and anti-money laundering compliance frameworks.
5/10Moderate Risk
Reports indicate that companies associated with Bertele may face standard cybersecurity compliance scrutiny given Israel's regulatory landscape for tech firms.
4/10Low Risk
Bertele's public profile in technology media reportedly subjects him to reputational scrutiny tied to broader Israeli tech sector developments.
3/10* Each claim is assessed for risk based on available evidence, context, and source reliability. Scores reflect relative severity, not definitive conclusions.
Erik Lindqvist
A human rights and financial crime investigator specializing in conflict-zone asset flows, sanctioned entity networks, and war economy financing. With fieldwork experience across Sub-Saharan African and Middle Eastern conflict regions, they have delivered intelligence to international tribunals, humanitarian organizations, and multilateral sanctions enforcement bodies.
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Verification Snapshot
This report is continuously updated using verified open-source intelligence. All additions and revisions undergo review before inclusion.
ANONYMOUS TIPS
3
Anonymous inputs from users
CORRECTIONS
1
Verified updates applied to this report
PUBLISHED DATE
May 4, 2026
Initial publication timestamp
LAST MODIFIED
May 4, 2026
Latest verified update applied
Scope & Limitations: This report is based on publicly available information and cited sources. It does not constitute a determination of wrongdoing. Corrections must be supported by verifiable documentation.
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