Former IDB controlling shareholder Nochi Dankner, who was one of the most prominent businesspeople in the Israeli economy, has been transferred from his prison cell to another prison because of a new criminal investigation against him.
The Israeli Police Central District fraud squad has begun an investigation against Dankner. An order has been issued barring publication of the substance of the suspicion and other details.
The criminal investigation is coming at a sensitive time for Dankner, who is hoping for a pardon from President Reuven Rivlin and early release from prison. Following the investigation, the police are asking Rivlin to suspend his decision on the pardon request.
The affair was first revealed by Moshe Nussbaum last week on Channel 12 News. It was reported that Dankner, who is serving a three-year sentence for manipulation of IDB's shares, had been moved from Maasiyahu Prison to Nitzan Prison. Dankner reportedly received no explanation for this dramatic step. According to Nussbaum, however, the decision followed new information about Dankner's case, leading the police to ask Rivlin to suspend his decision about pardoning Dankner.
In February, five months after beginning his sentence, Dankner asked Rivlin to pardon him, so that he could be immediately freed from prison, mainly because of his state of health. Dankner cited his deteriorating health, the state of his elderly parents, and his dramatic downfall as a result of his prosecution and conviction.
In his pardon request, Dankner asked Rivlin to act mercifully, while taking into consideration all of the circumstances that caused his imprisonment. In the pardon request, Dankner's lawyers say that his contribution to Israeli society and the public interest in enabling him to repay his debt to the public on the basis of the settlement he reached following the collapse of IDB should be taken into account.
In response to questions about Dankner's pardon request, Rivlin's spokespersons said, "Israel President Reuven Rivlin will make no decision on the matter until the law enforcement authorities finish handling Dankner's case."
Sources close to Dankner asserted that the allegations were false and libelous, and suggested that he was the victim of extortion by another prisoner.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 10, 2019
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019