Tator said the bag was open and bursting with documents. When he looked into the bag he saw that there were bundles of bills wrapped in plastic bags.
“I lifted the bag and brought it to the office’, Tator told the Yedioth newspaper. “Together with the head of our Neve Shaanan branch and other drivers we opened the bag and looked for some identification of who it belonged to in order to return it to its owner.”
The documents were in Russian so we called over someone who knew Russian to read through the document to find out who the owner was and make contact with him. When the man answered the phone and heard his money was recovered the man’s happiness knew no bounds! He was told where to come to pick up the money and a few minutes later he came to our office.
The man came with another Russian speaker that translated. He explained that he came from Ukraine for a family visit. The man emotionally thanked the driver for returning the $20,000 he had lost.
The driver said; “I did my part and I can go to sleep with a clean conscious. I never had such a large amount of money in my hands my entire life but it was clear to me that I was going to find the rightful owners and return it as is also the policy in Egged. It’s not my money. Soon I will have a grandchild who will be called with my name…that will be the truest present I can receive,” Ataf conluded.