Bitcoin land deal leads to foreclosure against Ilan Ben-Dov

Ilan Ben-Dov
Ilan Ben-Dov

Ben-Dov: The court has been deceived.

A foreclosure order of up to NIS 100 million against businessperson Ilan Ben-Dov is currently delaying payment of the tax on the sale of his land in the upscale community of Kfar Shmaryahu to Moshe Hogeg for NIS 19 million (NIS 70 million) reported by "Globes" three weeks ago. Ben-Dov told "Globes" that he would petition the court today to vacate the foreclosure order. The foreclosure was requested by Adv. Ophir Naor, appointed by the court to oversee the debt arrangement of Scailex Corporation (TASE: SCIX), a company formerly controlled by Ben-Dov that collapsed.

Hogeg heads the Singulariteam venture capital fund, which invests in blockchain and digital currency technology startups. He paid 15% of the price for Ben-Dov's land in bitcoin, a quantity of digital currency then worth $2.8 million. The five-dunam (1.25-acre) lot is on the site of the American International School in Kfar Shmaryahu.

Ben-Dov was paid in full

Ben-Dov confirmed to "Globes" that the land deal had been completed and that the foreclosure was delaying payment of the tax on the deal. "Adv. Naor's action was designed solely for personal publicity," Ben-Dov said. "He is deceiving the court. Naor knew that Bank Leumi already had a foreclosure order on the property, as was reported in 'Globes,' but he concealed this from the judge. He misled the court by claiming that assets could be smuggled. He also did not say in his petition for a foreclosure order that the insurance company being sued, Clal Insurance Enterprises, holds a NIS 140 million insurance policy. I'm convinced that the court will grant my petition for vacating of the foreclosure order as soon as I file it. I also plan to file a counter-claim against Naor later."

In June 2017, Naor, the special administrator appointed for Scailex, filed a NIS 250 million derivative action in the company's name against Ben-Dov, its former controlling shareholder, and a number of company officers, alleging negligence in approving the distribution of a dividend by the company in 2010-2011. At that time, Scailex held a controlling interest in mobile telephony company Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) and also controlled the import and distribution of Samsung's mobile phone devices in Israel.

Ben-Dov also told "Globes" today, "Scailex distributed 15% of its profit as a dividend in 2010, which was a peak year in the mobile telephone market. All of the bond series for which a lawsuit was filed were issued after April 2011 and the bonds were not secured. When they were issued, the dividend was already on the company's books. The claim is groundless."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 12, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Ilan Ben-Dov
Ilan Ben-Dov
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