Shai Dahan, an Israeli citizen, was killed during riots at a prison in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Saturday.
His cellmate, an Israeli citizen named Oren Sheinman, was lightly wounded and taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Ecuadorian media reported that Dahan was killed after being hit by a blunt object. It is not clear how the attackers entered the cell and an investigation into the matter has reportedly been launched.
The incident occurred five days before several more riots broke out in other parts of the prison, which resulted in the deaths of 11 inmates. According to reports, 13 inmates and 5 wardens were wounded as well.
Dahan had escaped from a prison in Panama in 2018, where he was being held over accusations of massive fraud, including selling the same property several times to different buyers.
He had arrest warrants issued against him in both the United States and Panama. He was considered one of Panama's most wanted criminals, with Panemse authorities issuing a $10,000 bounty for his capture.
In 2018, several months after his capture in Panama, he escaped prison after reportedly bribing officials at the jail to the tune of $500,000.
Dahan was later arrested for fraud, attempting the sale of medical equipment and coronavirus tests under a false identity, in a plot that allegedly included former Ecuadorian president Abdala Bucaram.
Dahan was reported to have $100,000 in his possession at the time of his arrest. While the plot was led by Dahan, Sheinman was also involved in the incident, consequently leading to his arrest, according to the state media reports.
Following a raid on the house where the two were living in the city of Santa Elena, an additional $200,000 and three luxury vehicles were found.
Bucaram himself claimed on Twitter that Dahan was killed as a result of "state terrorism" and that he was killed in order to conceal the false accusations made by the authorities against his son and the Israeli citizen.
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The $100,000 Panamese bounty for the arrest of Shai Dahan following his escape in 2018
“I told him it was not us, it was the government trying to involve my family. That was never our way. We live under state terrorism,” Bucaram said on Twitter.
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said in a statement: "One Israeli citizen was killed early in the morning in Ecuador and another Israeli citizen was lightly injured during riots in a local prison. The tragic incident is under investigation by local authorities. The family of the deceased in Israel has been notified. The Israeli Embassy in Quito and the Department for Israelis Abroad in the Consular Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are accompanying the family in its difficult time."