A senior official from Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was fired recently, after he was caught embezzling large sums of money during his deployment abroad.

According to a report by Channel 12’s Nir Devori Monday evening, the senior Mossad official was found to be diverting tens of thousands of Euros to his own personal finances. The embezzlement is suspected of having gone on for a long period of time, before the agency’s suspicions were confirmed and the official removed from the Mossad.

The report emphasized that the removal of the senior official – a relatively extreme measure given his high rank and long service in the agency - was crucial to prevent a loss of integrity and trust in the agency.

The Mossad has declined to respond to the report.