Former Value Base Executive Fined $33,000 for Insider Trading in Ari Nadlan Deal
The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) imposed a 120,000 shekel administrative fine on Amir Nahum, former Vice President at Value Base underwriting and IPO management, for violating insider trading laws. The penalty was part of a settlement approved last week by the ISA's Administrative Enforcement Committee. The case began as a criminal investigation but was later closed by the prosecution and transferred to administrative proceedings.
The ISA initiated action against Nahum following events in March 2022, when he was involved in assisting the public real estate company Ari Nadlan ahead of its 2021 annual report release. Nahum accessed material non-public information, including positive financial data, presentations, and correspondence related to the draft presentation. This insider information included improvements in debt structure, reduced financing costs, revaluation profits increasing equity, growth in investment real estate, and details about the company’s business strategy.
Concurrently, Nahum was asked to help find a buyer for a block of Ari Nadlan shares held by Total Capital fund. After unsuccessful attempts with institutional investors, he facilitated a transaction with businessman Danny Rimoni, a controlling shareholder in Rimoni Industries and a key client of Value Base. Nahum managed negotiations and helped advance the deal, which resulted in Rimoni and his company purchasing Ari Nadlan shares for 5 million shekels. About a month later, Rimoni sold part of these shares for a profit of 1.2 million shekels.
The ISA argued that Nahum, as an insider due to his connections with Ari Nadlan, effectively provided Rimoni with a positive opinion on the shares while holding insider information, knowing it would be used for the transaction. Nahum admitted in the settlement that the correspondence regarding the presentation and its draft contained material non-public information but did not admit to providing an opinion. He agreed to the enforcement arrangement without contesting the allegations.
