Israel Revokes Licenses of Five More Financial Agents in Slice Affair

Israel's Capital Markets Authority has revoked the licenses of five additional financial agents involved in the "Slice Affair," bringing the total number of revoked licenses to 12. These agents were central to a mechanism that transferred over 280 million shekels from savers' funds to foreign funds managed by the agency or its affiliates.

The authority stated that the license revocations halt the agents' activities as insurance agents and represent a significant enforcement step against key figures in the case. The decisions by Supervisor of the Capital Markets Amit Gal followed extensive investigative audits conducted by the authority at the Finbert agency in 2024. These audits revealed systematic conduct that violated legal provisions and the duties of licensed individuals, including improper client recruitment and the transfer of pension savings to personal provident funds and foreign investment funds.

"This conduct caused widespread harm to clients and significant damage, and constituted a breach of the trust and diligence duties incumbent upon insurance agent license holders, for which the Supervisor ordered the revocation of their licenses, determining that there is no place for their continued professional activity," the authority said.

Finbert agency was one of the main insurance agencies operating within the "Slice Affair," channeling hundreds of millions of shekels in pension savings from clients into personally managed provident funds and foreign investment funds. Previous decisions by the supervisor to revoke the licenses of seven Finbert agents in the first phase were upheld by the courts, which dismissed all petitions against these decisions. The court emphasized the personal and professional obligations of insurance agents, including duties of trust, diligence, and disclosure to clients, and their responsibility to adhere to the law.

The Capital Markets Authority views the court's rulings, some of which are precedent-setting, as crucial in preventing prolonged and unnecessary legal proceedings aimed at delaying action and undermining the regulator's authority. The authority believes these rulings will expedite further enforcement actions against other individuals involved in the affair.