Ex-Gibui Holdings Manager Charged With Theft and Money Laundering

Eyal Rosen, formerly the branch manager in Afula for the non-bank credit company Gibui Holdings, has been indicted on dozens of charges including theft by an authorized person, fraudulent receipt under aggravated circumstances, false corporate record-keeping, corporate fraud and breach of trust, money laundering, and securities offenses. The indictment was filed in the Tel Aviv District Court, one week after Rosen was extradited from Portugal. Gibui Holdings collapsed in late 2022, following allegations of embezzlement and financial irregularities at its Afula branch. The company, which provided billions of shekels in non-bank credit annually with a portfolio exceeding 400 million shekels before its collapse, entered insolvency proceedings in October 2022. It owed 140 million shekels to bondholders and 110 million shekels to banks. The company's trustees estimate the total damage from the collapse at 360 million shekels. Prior to its downfall, Gibui Holdings published financial reports depicting high-quality, risk-free credit, with no delinquencies or collection issues, and reported equity close to 100 million shekels. However, the Israel Securities Authority claims these reports were falsified. Gibui Holdings was initially controlled by brothers Ariel and Avital Pardo, founders of the fintech company Pagaya, and later by Jonathan Cohen and Yossi Levi.