Israeli Real Estate Firm Best Group Shares Plunge After Accounting Scandal Revealed

Best Group, an Israeli real estate company that went public in June with a valuation of 3 billion shekels, is facing turmoil after disclosing a significant accounting irregularity. Last week, the company informed the stock exchange that between September 2025 and June 2026, it mistakenly used between 700,000 and 1 million shekels of its subsidiary's funds for private work on properties owned by controlling shareholders and their relatives, without charging them. The controlling shareholders subsequently reimbursed the company 1.1 million shekels.

However, in an updated announcement on Thursday, Best Group revealed that the actual amount taken was more than double the initial figure, totaling 2.2 million shekels, which has now been repaid with interest. Due to this, the company plans to restate its 2025 financial reports and the first quarter of 2026 to reflect these corrections. Interestingly, the net profit is expected to increase because the expenses were initially recorded as project costs instead of as a receivable from the controlling shareholders.

Despite the profit adjustment, investors reacted negatively to the accounting issues, causing Best Group's shares to drop over 6% during trading. The market's concern centers on the company's financial management and transparency following the revelations.