Ex-Tax Authority Official Charged in $7.5 Million Tax Evasion Scheme

Israel's State Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Shimon Cohen, a former senior official at the Israel Tax Authority, accusing him of evading taxes and money laundering totaling NIS 29 million (approximately $7.5 million).

Cohen, a veteran lawyer and accountant who previously served in high-level professional and management roles at the Tax Authority, is charged alongside several others. These include bankrupt contractor Dudi Apple, Cohen's former business partner Orly Tal, and businessmen Tzvi Shefetz and Haim Salter, who were clients of Cohen's firm. The investigation into the case was initially revealed by the business newspaper "Calcalist."

In parallel with the indictment, prosecutors also requested the freezing of assets valued at tens of millions of shekels. These assets are registered to Cohen's company, S.B.A. Properties and Initiative, and include 29 apartments in Tiberias worth an estimated NIS 29 million, and another apartment in Ramat Gan valued at NIS 1 million. Additionally, prosecutors seek to freeze personal assets of Cohen, including two Tel Aviv homes worth approximately NIS 20 million, a Tiberias property valued at NIS 1.8 million, and two luxury vehicles.

One of the charges details a 2018 transaction where Cohen allegedly brokered a deal for businessman Diego Marinberg to sell his holdings in a German commercial real estate company for 653 million euros. Cohen allegedly received a 1% brokerage fee of 5.6 million euros, plus an additional 2.8 million euros for legal services, neither of which he reported to the tax authorities.

The indictment further alleges that Cohen facilitated a scheme for Dudi Apple, who was declared bankrupt at the time and obligated to report any income to a receiver. To avoid this, Cohen and Apple allegedly created false loan agreements between Apple and his sister and son, disguising payments totaling NIS 3.5 million as loans. Apple, according to the indictment, failed to report this sum to the receiver and the Tax Authority, thereby committing income omission to evade taxes.

Attorneys for Shimon Cohen called the indictment "utterly bizarre" and stated it has no basis and is destined to collapse in court.