Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) is trying to take over the personal assets of Ilan Ben-Dov. A court has issued a temporary foreclosure order on up to NIS 62.3 million worth of his assets, including bank accounts, lots in the wealthy Tel Aviv suburb of Kfar Shmaryahu, and shares in his holding company. The foreclosure order will not apply to the salaries and bank accounts of his partners.
Bank Leumi is seeking repayment of the NIS 80 million personal guarantees Ben-Dov for the NIS 155 million debt of Tao Tsuot Ltd. (TASE: TAO-M) to the bank. Yesterday, Central District Court Judge Ilan Shiloh issued a liquidation order at the request of the company's bond trustees, Adv. Eli Zohar and Bank Leumi, which is the company's main creditor. In late April, the bank sent Ben-Dov a warning letter that it intended to foreclose his personal deposit of NIS 26 million.
Although financially troubled Tao has been sent to liquidation, Bank Leumi had not sought to foreclose Ben-Dov's personal guarantees, only asking him, in August 2012, to stand by his commitments. He refused.
Bank Leumi is demanding full repayment of the guarantees. In April, a party involved in the case said, "Bank Leumi previously thought that Ben-Dov could bring the money without taking an action against him. But the bank now realizes that Ben-Dov will not bring the money, and it has decided on aggressive measures, of which the warning letter was just the first step."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 11, 2013
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