Rami Levy to Testify Against Rival Eyal Ravid in Price-Fixing Trial
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
Retail magnate Rami Levy will testify next week as a key prosecution witness against Eyal Ravid, CEO of the Victory chain, in a price-fixing trial. Ravid faces charges of illicitly interfering in the food market by allegedly pressuring suppliers to ensure competitors also raised prices. The case, considered a landmark, relies on seized messages and recordings. Levy's testimony will focus on supplier negotiations and price increase mechanisms.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Rami Levy will testify against rival Eyal Ravid in a price-fixing trial next week.
- Eyal Ravid is accused of illicitly interfering in the food market by coordinating price hikes.
- The trial is the first criminal case under the Food Law's prohibition on retailer interference.
- Prosecutors cite seized messages and recordings as evidence of Ravid's alleged actions.
- Levy's testimony will cover supplier negotiations and price increase dynamics in retail.
Business magnate Rami Levy is scheduled to testify next week as a key prosecution witness in the criminal trial of Eyal Ravid, CEO and owner of the Victory supermarket chain. Ravid is accused of attempting to coordinate prices and illicitly interfere in the food market. Levy's testimony, expected to last a full day, will be central to the evidence phase of the trial at the Lod District Court.
Levy, who was previously investigated in the case before his file was closed, is expected to provide judges with insight into the power dynamics within Israel's retail sector. His testimony will likely focus on how negotiations with major suppliers are conducted, how price increases are passed from manufacturers to shelves, and how competing chains respond to demands for higher prices.
The Competition Authority, which is prosecuting Ravid, views his public statements from 2021, warning of a "tsunami of price increases," as a blatant attempt to signal competitors to raise prices in unison. The indictment against Ravid is considered a landmark in the industry, marking the first criminal charge for "prohibited retailer interference" under the Food Law, which forbids influencing competitors' prices through suppliers.
Prosecutors allege that Ravid conditioned his approval of price hikes from leading suppliers, such as Beit HaShita and Dr. Fischer, on their ensuring that Rami Levy and Eitan Yohananof would also raise their prices concurrently. The prosecution's case relies on messages and recordings seized from Ravid's mobile device, in which he allegedly referred to Levy and Yohananof with derogatory terms and issued ultimatums to suppliers. In one recording, Ravid is heard telling Beit HaShita CEO Uri Levy that he would not approve a price increase as long as Levy and Yohananof, whom he referred to with ethnic slurs, did not raise their prices, implying he would only do so if they did.
This trial brings two prominent figures in the food market face-to-face in court.
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