Shimon Heyada Hayut, the Israeli man widely known as the “Tinder Swindler,” was detained in Georgia on Sunday and faces the prospect of extradition after an international arrest warrant issued in 2022 sought him on allegations of crimes running into millions of euros.
Georgian authorities said Hayut, 35, was stopped as he entered the country at Batumi International Airport on the Black Sea coast on a Red Notice from Interpol. He is being held at the Batumi Temporary Detention Isolator and is expected to appear before a Georgian court within 48 hours to determine whether to place him in preliminary extradition custody.
German authorities issued an international arrest warrant in 2022 accusing Hayut of money‑laundering, tax evasion and computer and cryptocurrency fraud totalling millions of euros, according to media reporting. Hayut also has previously faced red notices from Israeli authorities. Georgian officials and local legal experts said the extradition process could take months as courts assess whether legal barriers — including claims of political persecution or risk of inhuman treatment — would prevent surrender to the requesting state.
A Georgian legal specialist, Professor Anna Putkaradze, said that within 48 hours of arrest a court must decide whether to keep a detainee in preliminary extradition custody and must also consider any grounds that could legally bar extradition. "At this stage it is also essential to determine whether any grounds exist that would prohibit extradition — for instance, whether the person is being politically persecuted, or whether there is a risk of torture or inhuman treatment," she said in comments reported by local media.
Hayut’s lawyer told Israeli media they did not initially know the grounds for the arrest. Local police sources said Hayut was being held in solitary and would be assigned state legal representation.
Hayut rose to international notoriety after a 2022 Netflix documentary and related reporting in which multiple women alleged he used dating apps, including Tinder, to defraud them. The documentary and accusers said he posed as the heir to a wealthy diamond family, cultivated trust with lavish trips and gifts, and then obtained money from victims by saying he needed funds to pay security or legal costs. One accuser featured in the documentary said she gave him more than $270,000.
Hayut has denied the allegations, saying he is a legitimate businessman who made money investing in Bitcoin and calling the documentary a distortion of the truth. He was convicted in Israel in 2019 on four fraud-related counts and sentenced to 15 months in prison; Israeli authorities said he served five months. He was also ordered to pay compensation of roughly £35,000 and fined about £4,600 for possessing a false passport, according to reporting.
His criminal history includes a 2019 arrest in Greece after police said he entered the country on a false passport. Israeli media and reports have also linked Hayut to other allegations, including an accusation from 2020 that he impersonated a medical worker to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination; health officials at the time said the person was vaccinated after presenting themselves as a medical worker and condemned the action.
In November 2024, Israeli media reported a separate civil suit against Hayut by an acquaintance who says she lent him funds in 2022 and is seeking repayment. The suit is one of several legal actions that have followed the public allegations explored in the Netflix program.
Interpol and Georgian authorities were contacted for comment by news organisations. Hayut remains in detention in Batumi as Georgian courts consider the next legal steps, including which country will lodge a formal extradition request and whether he should be surrendered to face criminal proceedings abroad.