Albar Convicted in Fraud and Tax Case, Faces Proposed NIS 18 Million Fine

Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday convicted leasing company Albar, based on its own admission, of fraud and tax offenses as part of a plea deal with the Tax and Economics Prosecution. Under the agreement, the sides asked the court to impose an 18 million shekel fine, which they said would amount to significant financial punishment and serve the public interest.

According to the amended indictment, Albar sought to enter Israel’s parallel vehicle import market from 2013 onward. To obtain a parallel importer license and permits for importing different car models, the company and others submitted false documents and contracts that created a misleading appearance of compliance with the law, and on that basis the Transportation Ministry granted the required approvals.

After receiving the permits, Albar imported 1,828 vehicles into Israel with a total value of more than 176 million shekels. Prosecutors said the company also used forged purchase invoices and false certificates of origin to convince authorities the cars were brought in according to the permit terms and to obtain various tax benefits. Customs authorities were also given about 1,600 false import declarations with misleading transaction details.

The indictment further alleged that the reported purchase costs were reduced by more than 4 million shekels compared with the real costs, and that false records were entered in company books using fabricated documentation to hide the true transaction costs and the source of the funds. Albar was convicted of fraudulently obtaining something, smuggling and other customs offenses, VAT offenses, use of a forged document, filing false import declarations, evading import taxes, and false corporate bookkeeping.

The plea deal says the proposed fine reflects a substantial economic sanction and acknowledges the responsibility of Albar for actions carried out by senior executives. The case is not over, since the criminal proceedings against the other defendants are still continuing. The investigation was led by Haifa customs and VAT investigators at the Tax Authority together with the police’s Hof District unit, and it became one of the most prominent parallel import cases exposed in recent years.