Tax Authority Uncovers Brother-Sister Duo's $15 Million Tax Evasion Scheme

Israel's Tax Authority has revealed a sophisticated tax evasion scheme allegedly operated by a brother and sister, who are suspected of using a network of shell companies to issue and offset fictitious invoices totaling approximately 55 million shekels (about $15 million USD).

David Dostan was arrested on Sunday as part of an investigation by the Tax Authority's Customs and VAT investigations unit in Tel Aviv and the Center. He is accused of managing the network of shell companies, whose sole purpose was to generate, distribute, and offset fake invoices. These invoices were allegedly supplied to other companies without any actual transactions taking place, enabling those companies to evade tax payments.

Dostan's sister, Rinat Lahav, was also arrested and subsequently released under restrictive conditions, as was Dostan. She is suspected of assisting her brother in distributing the fraudulent invoices through companies registered in her name.

The investigation into the siblings is ongoing. This case follows recent revelations of another tax evasion investigation involving a construction company from Ramat Hasharon, suspected of offsetting fictitious invoices worth around 26 million shekels (about $7 million USD). The owner and director of that company, Shmuel Gazit, was also released under restrictive conditions by a Jerusalem court.

The Tax Authority's investigation aims to uncover the full extent of the alleged tax fraud and identify all parties involved in the scheme.