Bank Leumi Seeks to Dissolve Law Firm of Ex-Tax Official Indicted for Tax Evasion
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Bank Leumi is seeking to dissolve the law firm of Shimon Cohen, a former senior Israel Tax Authority official, following his indictment for tax evasion and money laundering totaling NIS 29 million. The indictment, filed last month, also implicates bankrupt contractor David Appel and others. Prosecutors have frozen assets worth tens of millions of shekels linked to Cohen's company. Cohen's lawyers called the indictment "utterly bizarre" and predicted its failure.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Bank Leumi seeks to dissolve the law firm of former Tax Authority official Shimon Cohen after his indictment.
- Cohen is accused of tax evasion and money laundering totaling NIS 29 million.
- Prosecutors have frozen assets worth tens of millions of shekels belonging to Cohen's company.
- The indictment includes bankrupt contractor David Appel and others.
- Cohen's lawyers called the indictment "utterly bizarre" and predicted its collapse.
Bank Leumi has requested to initiate insolvency proceedings to potentially dissolve the law firm of Shimon Cohen, a former senior official at the Israel Tax Authority. This action follows Cohen's indictment last month on charges including income concealment, aiding tax evasion, and money laundering totaling NIS 29 million. Cohen and companies under his control owe Bank Leumi approximately NIS 1.2 million, secured by a property in Beersheba.
The indictment also names bankrupt contractor David Appel, Cohen's former partner Orly Tal, and businessmen Zvi Shpats and Haim Salter. Cohen, a lawyer and accountant specializing in international taxation and trusts, previously served for 15 years at the Tax Authority, holding senior positions including head of professional divisions.
Alongside the indictment, prosecutors requested the freezing of tens of millions of shekels in assets held by Cohen's company, S.B.A. Properties and Initiative, including 29 apartments in Tiberias valued at NIS 29 million and another apartment in Ramat Gan worth NIS 1 million. Bank Leumi stated in its request that it had not pursued collection efforts previously, believing them to be futile given the company's significant debts to state authorities stemming from the criminal proceedings.
One of the indictment's five counts details a 2018 transaction where Cohen allegedly brokered a deal for businessman Diego Marinberg to sell his German real estate company TLG Immobilien AG for 653 million euros. Cohen allegedly received a 1% brokerage fee, amounting to 5.6 million euros, plus an additional 2.8 million euros for legal services, totaling approximately 8.4 million euros, which he is accused of not reporting to the Tax Authority to evade taxes.
Furthermore, the indictment claims that David Appel, who was declared bankrupt at the time, approached Cohen to receive an undisclosed portion of these funds. To avoid reporting the income to the receiver of his estate, Cohen and Appel allegedly created fraudulent loan agreements between Appel and his sister, Dalia Appel, and his son, Eran Appel. These agreements, the indictment asserts, were a cover for transferring approximately NIS 3.5 million to Appel through his relatives, thus evading both the receiver and the Tax Authority.
Cohen's legal representatives, Revith Tzemach and Amit Nir, described the indictment as "utterly bizarre" and without a solid basis, predicting it would collapse in court.